Abstract

A new ultra-fast high power density micro-capillary discharge design has been demonstrated that is capable of achieving record temperatures and ionization degrees utilizing ~ 5 times smaller discharge currents than previously used. Temperatures in the range 0.3–0.7 keV were obtained with < 40 kA electric currents. Experiments conducted in Xe discharges show emission from Cr-like Xe XXXI ions, while discharges in Ne show He-like Al XII line emission. The major hydrodynamic, ionization, and spectral characteristics for these experiments were numerically reproduced. The studies also revealed new unusual spectral effects of such plasmas. This new development opens a path to search for efficient discharge driven soft x-ray lasers in sub-10 nm spectral ranges.