Fusion Plasma Focus application

The name Plasma Focus (PF) has been bestowed upon a development of the fast dynamic Z-pinch characterized by a new type of electrode configuration which lends itself to the production of a non-cylindrical implosion of the current sheath. It produces a short lived, rather dense plasma, whose properties are dominated by the occurrence of macroscopic and microscopic instabilities. The fame of the PF has long been based essentially on the fact that it was the most intense neutron producing device in the field of controlled thermonuclear research. Moreover, the neutron yield has the remarkable property of scaling as the second power of the energy IVo stored in the capacitor bank. The question of the character of the neutron spectra of the PF correlated to the neutron production mechanism, has long cast fundamental doubts on the relevance and interest of developing further this line of research for applications in the field of controlled fusion. 

Some results of the Plasma Focus studies performed in the Kurchatov Institute and the Lebedev Institute in Moscow will be presented, while some possible applications of Plasma Focus systems for controlled fusion purposes will be discussed. 

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