Beamlet pulsed-power system
The 13-MJ Beamlet pulsed-power system provides power to the 512 flash lamps in the cavity and booster amplifiers. Since the flash lamps pump all of the apertures in the 2 x 2 amplifier array, the capacitor bank provides roughly four times the energy required to pump the single active beam line. During the 40 s prior to the shot, the capacitors are charged by constant-current power supplies. Ignitron switches transfer the capacitor energy to the flash lamps via coaxial cables. A preionization system triggers the flash lamps and delivers roughly 1 % of the capacitor energy 200 {mu}s prior to the main discharge. This is the first time flash-lamp preionization has been used in a large facility. Preionization improves the amplifier efficiency by roughly 5% and increases the lifetime of the flash lamps. LabVIEW control panels provide an operator interface with the modular controls and diagnostics. To improve the reliability of the system, high-energy-density, self-healing, metallized dielectric capacitors are used. High-frequency, voltage-regulated switching power supplies are integrated into each module on Beamlet, allowing greater independence among the modules and improved charge voltage accuracy, flexibility, and repeatability.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 376940
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-LR-105820-95; ON: DE96013181; TRN: 96:004685-0006
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Jun 1996; Related Information: Is Part Of Inertial confinement fusion. 1995 ICF annual report, October 1994--September 1995; PB: 407 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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