A Primer on Pulsed Power and Linear Transformer Drivers for High Energy Density Physics Applications

McBride, R. D.; Stygar, W. A.; Cuneo, M. E.; Sinars, Daniel Brian; Mazarakis, M.G.; Leckbee, J.; Savage, M. E.; Hutsel, B. T.; Douglass, J. D.; Kiefer, Mark L.; Oliver, B.V.; Laity, George; Gómez, M. R.; Yager-Elorriaga, D. A.; Patel, Sonal; Kovalchuk, B. M.; Kim, A. A.; Gourdain, P. A.; Bland, S. N.; Portillo, S.; Bott-Suzuki, S. C.; Beg, F. N.; Maron, Y.; Spielman, R. B.; Rose, D. V.; Welch, D. R.; Zier, J. C.; Schumer, J.W.; Greenly, J. B.; Covington, A. M.; Steiner, Adam; Campbell, P. C.; Miller, Stephanie M.; Woolstrum, J. M.; Ramey, Nicholas; Shah, Akash; Sporer, Brendan; Jordan, Nicholas M.; Lau, Y. Y.; Gilgenbach, R. M.

doi:10.1109/tps.2018.2870099

Cited by 61 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 129 publications

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“…While linear transformer driver (LTD) [1][2][3] systems have been around for decades [4], new designs using fast (t rise ∼ 100 ns), high-voltage (V ∼ 100 kV) capacitors make them a competitive alternative to Marx-bank generators. Further improvements would allow LTDs to deliver terawatts [5,6] or even a petawatt [7] of power to an experimental load.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current adding transmission lines for compact MA-class linear transformer drivers

Gourdain

Adams

Evans

et al. 2020

Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams

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Linear transformer drivers can be used as fast pulsed-power generators to produce and study matter under extreme conditions, with densities larger than 10 times that of solids. While its scientific investigations can start in a laboratory, it will eventually require a source of x rays that can be provided only by specialized light source facilities. When relocation becomes a necessity, a compact, modular design is clearly advantageous. This paper shows how nested transmission lines can reduce considerably the footprint of MA-class pulsed-power generators based on linear transformer driver technology.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current adding transmission lines for compact MA-class linear transformer drivers

Gourdain

Adams

Evans

et al. 2020

Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams

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“…In both cases, the magnetic flux change seen by the probe would be greatly reduced. After the current peak, the energy flux and E × B drift velocity reverse direction and point outward (power reversal) [9,29], which can cause plasma to be emitted by the feed electrodes via the inverse skin effect and propagate upstream toward larger radii. This phenomenon is not expected to affect experiments on the CESZAR driver, which will largely be limited to a timescale ≤220 ns, in order to achieve high-energy coupling given the machine rise time.…”

Section: Circuit Model and Machine Short-circuit Testsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The LTD concept was pioneered by Koval'chuk et al [7] and has received increasing attention in recent years [8][9][10][11], including a recent review on the history of LTD development [12]. Several LTD machines are operational or under development in the USA [13][14][15][16], Europe [17,18], Russia [19,20], and Asia [21,22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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MA-class linear transformer driver for Z -pinch research

Conti

Valenzuela

Fadeev

et al. 2020

Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams

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A linear transformer driver (LTD) generator capable of delivering up to 0.9 MA current pulses with 160 ns rise time has been assembled and commissioned at University of California San Diego. The machine is an upgrade of the LTD-III pulser from Sandia National Laboratories, consisting of 40 capacitors and 20 spark gap switches, arranged in a 20-brick configuration. The driver was modified with the addition of a new trigger system, active premagnetization of the inductive cores, a vacuum chamber with multiple diagnostic ports, and a vacuum power feed to couple the driver to plasma loads. The new machine is called compact experimental system for Z-pinch and ablation research (CESZAR). The driver has a maximum bipolar charge voltage of AE100 kV, but for reliability and testing, and to reduce the risk of damage to components, the machine was operated at AE60 kV, producing 550 kA peak currents with a rise time of 170 ns on a 3.5 nH short circuit. While the peak current is scaled down due to the reduced charge voltage, the pulse shape and circuit parameters are close to the results of the cavity and power feed models but suggest a slightly higher inductance than predicted. The machine was then used to drive wire array Z-pinch and gas puff Z-pinch experiments as initial dynamic plasma loads. The evolution of the wire array Z pinch is consistent with the general knowledge of this kind of experiment, featuring wire ablation and stagnation of the precursor plasma on axis. The gas puff Z pinches were configured as a single, hollow argon gas shell, in preparation for more structured gas puff targets such as multispecies, multishell implosions. The implosion dynamics agree generally with 1D magnetohydrodynamics simulation results, but large zippering and magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities are observed. The CESZAR load region was designed to accommodate many load types to be driven by the machine, which makes it a versatile platform for studying Z-pinch plasmas. The completion of the CESZAR driver allows plasma experiments on energy coupling from LTD machines to plasma loads, instability mitigation techniques and magnetic field distributions in Z pinches, and interface dynamics in multispecies implosions.

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“…Our study of crossed-field flows below and above the Hull cutoff is applicable to the high-power microwave device known as the magnetically insulated liner oscillator (MILO) [19] and to the linear transformer driver (LTD) [20], which has recently emerged as a basic unit in the architecture of modern pulsed-power systems. Depending on the operating parameters, both the MILO and LTD exhibit a spatial region in which B transitions through B H .…”

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confidence: 99%

Thermal Electron Flow in a Planar Crossed-Field Diode

Chernin

Jassem

Lau

2020

IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.

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A self-consistent model of steady-state electron flow in a planar crossed-field diode with a thermionic cathode is presented. Our formulation is a generalization of the classic work of Fry and Langmuir, to include a constant magnetic field B of arbitrary strength parallel to the electrode surfaces. Some effects of the magnetic field on the electron flow are illustrated in an example. Index Terms-Crossed-field diode, Hull cutoff, space charge limited, temperature limited, thermionic emission. I. INTRODUCTION T HERMIONIC cathodes are widely used as electron sources. In a diode, as the cathode temperature is raised, the anode current transitions from the temperature-limited value, which is described by the Richardson-Dushman law [1], [2] to the space charge-limited value, which is described by the Child-Langmuir law [3], [4]. The 1-D theory of this transition is given in the classic articles by Langmuir [4] and Fry [5], who found that, above a certain transition temperature, the anode current is controlled by the appearance of a potential minimum in front of the cathode. This potential minimum is also known as a virtual cathode [6]-[8]. We recently extended the 1-D theory of Fry and Langmuir to 2-D in order to study various effects of nonuniform emission [9]. This work was motivated by our attempt to understand the physical basis for the shape of the Miram curve [10], which is a plot of the anode current as a function of the cathode temperature at a fixed voltage. The Miram curve usually exhibits a smooth "knee" which marks the transition from the temperature-limited regime to the space charge-limited regime. Operation in the knee region is often chosen for stability and long cathode life. Much less developed is the thermionic theory of a crossed-field diode, in which an external magnetic field B is imposed parallel to the cathode surface. The anode current Manuscript

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A Primer on Pulsed Power and Linear Transformer Drivers for High Energy Density Physics Applications

Cited by 61 publications

References 129 publications

Current adding transmission lines for compact MA-class linear transformer drivers

Current adding transmission lines for compact MA-class linear transformer drivers

MA-class linear transformer driver for Z -pinch research

Thermal Electron Flow in a Planar Crossed-Field Diode

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