Abstract:
The paper describes an experimental setup designed to produce a damped vacuum discharge with a peak current of 18 kA and a duration of less than 1 $\mu$s. In this type of discharge, a previously observed phenomenon is realized-namely, the generation of multicharged ions in a vacuum discharge during the plasma column growing stage, without pinching. The main idea is to rapidly terminate the discharge current immediately after this stage. This may enable the development of a discharge-based radiation source with a low level of electrode erosion. The discharge current is controlled by damping the discharge circuit, achieved by introducing a ballast resistor into the electrical circuit. Test measurements confirmed the formation of multicharged iron ions (up to Fe VIII) at times between 100 and 200 ns after discharge initiation. The dependence of the discharge development dynamics and the intensity of its emission in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) range on the electrode gap was studied. EUV emission at a wavelength of 13.5 nm was demonstrated when a tin anode was used in the discharge.
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