Plasma dynamics in a long conduction time planar plasma opening switch

Summary form only given. A long-conduction-time planar plasma opening switch has been constructed. Streak and framing photography and emission spectroscopy were used to correlate the optical properties and dynamics of the plasma with electrical measurements. Framing photography of the plasma during opening into a short circuit load revealed light confined to a narrow band in the gap region. This narrow band remained the same size but became much brighter as it translated from the generator end to the load end of the injected plasma. Once there, its width decreased and the light disappeared mid-gap. A small amount of downstream current was seen before this point in time, but the maximum dl/dt did not occur until after the light had gone mid-gap. After this maximum, there was evidence of plasma ejection downstream towards the load