Design of a Command-Triggered Plasma Opening Switch for Terawatt Applications
Inductive energy storage pulsed power systems can have high energy density, leading to smaller, less expensive systems. The crucial element of an inductive energy storage system is the opening switch. In microsecond and nanosecond pulsed power systems the plasma opening switch has been in use for more than twenty years. Though widely studied, application of the plasma opening switch (POS) has been limited in both performance ad understanding. The development of the triggered switch is aimed to address three important areas. First, complete de-coupling of the closed phase and the opening phase will allow improved performance, especialiy at longer conduction times. Second, the simplified physics allows for easier modeling because of a betterdefined geometry. Third, naturally, triggering will reduce jitter of the output pulse. Improving performance will allow longer conduction time, and triggering will negate the naturaIIy increased self- operating jitter at longer conduction time. The triggered switch system is based on moving the plasma switch armature with a magnetic field. Up unti} the time the armature is pushed away, it is held in place against the drive current magnetic pressure by a second magnetic field. We have demonstrated the components of this system [1], but never before has a plasma opening switch been opened by an independent signal. Our system is designed to deliver 1-2 terawatts of usable load power at multi-megavolt potentiak. We define usable load power as the product of load voltage and load cathode (boundary) current. The length of the vacuum storage inductor defines the 35 ns pulse length. This paper will show the design of the switch and rngger system, which is conservatively designed to provide a wide range of trigger signals. The trigger power for this system is important for cost reasons. The first experiments will use a trigger level of ten percent of the output pulse; we will describe design features intended to reduce the amount of trigger power needed. Particle-in-cell simulations of the active trigger will also be shown.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 8445
- Report Number(s):
- SAND98-2817C; ON: DE00008445
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 12th IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference 1999; Monterey, CA; 06/27-30/1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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