Formation and Study of a Spherical Plasma Liner for Plasma-Jet-Driven Magneto-Inertial Fusion

Plasma-jet-driven magneto-inertial fusion (PJMIF) is an alternative approach to controlled nuclear fusion which aims to realize a line-replaceable dense plasma liner as a repetitive spherical compression driver. First experimental measurements on the formation of a spherical Argon plasma liner formed from 36 discrete pulsed plasma jets are obtained on the Plasma Liner Experiment (PLX). Liner uniformity and morphology, plasma density, and temperature are assessed at times throughout the implosion process.