Dense plasma focus - a literature review

The dense plasma focus (DPF) is a convenient source of short, intense neutron pulses, and dense, high temperature plasma. This review of the literature on the DPF indicates that its operation is still not understood, and attempts to show where the present data is either inadequate or inconsistent. Because the plasma conditions and neutron and x-ray fluxes vary from shot to shot, it is maintained that, to resolve inconsistencies in the present data, spectra need to be measured with energy and time resolution simultaneously, and cannot be built up from a large number of shots. Time resolutions of the order of 1 nsec for pulse lengths of about 100 nsec make these requirements especially difficult. Some theoretical models are presented for the neutron output and its spectrum, but no self-consistent description of the plasma in the focus region is likely for some time. (author)