Pulsed Power Technology for Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion

Over the past few years, the technology of pulsed power generators has been developed to the level where it is possible to produce powers of the order of 1012 W for times of the order of 10-7 sec. Such generators are most commonly utilized to produce intense relativistic electron beams, and this paper briefly surveys the existing state of the art of generators and relativistic beams. As examples, recent work at NRL is considered in some detail. Finally, several potential applications of this technology in controlled fusion research will be discussed.