Two hump-shaped angular distributions of neutrons and soft X-rays in a small plasma focus device

Highlights: • The angular distributions of neutrons and soft X-rays from a 3.5-kJ PFD were investigated. • The distributions of neutrons and X-rays represented two humps with a dip at the central axis of the device. • The maximum neutron yield of 2.98 ± 0.2 × 10⁸ neutrons per pulse was registered at 13.5 kV and 6.5 mbar. - Abstract: Angular distributions of soft X-rays (SXRs) and neutrons emitted by a small plasma focus device (PFD) were investigated simultaneously using TLD-100 dosimeters and Geiger-Muller activation counters, respectively. The distributions represented two humps with a small dip at the angular position 0° and reduced from the angles of ± 15° and ± 30° for the neutrons and SXRs, respectively. The maximum yield of 2.98 × 10⁸ neutrons per shot of the device was obtained at 13.5 kV and 6.5 mbar. A time of flight (TOF) of 75.2 ns between the hard X-ray and the neutron peaks corresponds to neutrons with energy of 2.67 MeV. A similar behavior was observed between the angular distributions of neutron and soft X-ray emissions.