Title :
Development of a compact LTD pulse generator for X-ray backlighting of planar foil ablation experiments
Author :
Yager-Elorriaga, D.A. ; Steiner, A.M. ; Patel, S.G. ; Chalenski, D.A. ; Gilgenbach, Ronald M. ; Lau, Y.Y. ; Jordan, N.M.
Author_Institution :
Nucl. Eng. & Radiol. Sci. Dept., Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Abstract :
Summary form only given. A 70kV, 100kA compact pulse generator (0.7m × 0.9m × 0.3m) has been constructed and successfully tested with a resistive load using a linear LTD-type capacitor-switch configuration. The generator consists of 6 bricks connected in parallel, where each brick contains two oppositely charged capacitors (+/-70kV, 40nF) and a low inductance L-3 spark-gap switch (93nH). The bricks are connected to the load through a parallel plate transmission line. The generator is designed to drive a hybrid x-pinch to serve as a diagnostic for planar foil ablation experiments on the 1-MA LTD at the Michigan Accelerator for Inductive Z-pinch Experiments (MAIZE) facility.[1,2] The hybrid x-pinch diagnostic consists of a 35-50μm Al or Mo wire between two conical tungsten electrodes and will be used as a backlighter in addition to the current 775nm Ti:sapphire laser. The construction of the hybrid x-pinch chamber and transmission line is currently underway. In addition, the generator may be used to create external magnetic fields for magneto Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) experiments on the 1-MA LTD. Preliminary results of generator characterization will be presented.
Keywords :
Z pinch; aluminium; capacitors; foils; laser ablation; molybdenum; plasma X-ray sources; plasma diagnostics; plasma materials processing; pulsed power switches; spark gaps; tungsten; Al; MAIZE facility; Michigan Accelerator for Inductive Z-pinch Experiment facility; Mo; W; X-ray backlighting; brick; compact LTD pulse generator; conical electrode; current 100 kA; external magnetic field; hybrid x-pinch chamber; hybrid x-pinch diagnostics; inductance L-3 spark-gap switch; linear LTD-type capacitor-switch configuration; magneto Rayleigh-Taylor experiment; parallel plate transmission line; planar foil ablation experiment; resistive load; size 35 mum to 50 mum; titanium-sapphire laser; voltage 70 kV; wavelength 775 nm; wire; Awards activities; Capacitors; Educational institutions; Generators; Hybrid power systems; Plasmas; Pulse generation;
Conference_Titel :
Plasma Science (ICOPS), 2013 Abstracts IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
San Francisco, CA
DOI :
10.1109/PLASMA.2013.6635011
