Patent ID: 6408052
Filing Date: 2002-06-18
Classification: H05G,H05H

Abstract:
A Z-pinch plasma X-ray source comprising:a chamber containing a gas at a prescribed pressure, said chamber comprising an insulating wall and defining a pinch region having a central axis, said insulating wall having an inside surface and an outside surface; a pinch anode disposed at one end of said pinch region; a conductive shell surrounding said insulating wall and electrically connected to said pinch anode; a pinch cathode disposed at an opposite end of said pinch region; a first conductor defining an edge in close proximity to or contacting the inside surface of said insulating wall; and a second conductor disposed around the outside surface of said insulating wall, wherein a surface discharge is produced on the inside surface of said insulating wall in response to application of a voltage to said first and second conductors, said surface discharge causing the gas to ionize and to form a plasma shell near the inside surface of said insulating wall, wherein said pinch anode and said pinch cathode produce a current through the plasma shell in an axial direction and produce an azimuthal magnetic field in said pinch region in response to application of a high energy electrical pulse to said pinch anode and said pinch cathode, whereby said azimuthal magnetic field causes said plasma shell to collapse to said central axis and to generate X-rays.