High voltage, high power operation of the plasma erosion opening switch

Neri, J. M.; Boller, J.R.; Ottinger, P. F.; Weber, B.V.; Young, F.C.

doi:10.2172/6472201

Cited by 4 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Nevertheless, despite the phenomenological character of , the maximum switch voltage correlates reasonably well with the first voltage peak of ~3 MV recorded in the experiment (Neri et al. 1987). Explaining the second peak with an amplitude greater than 4 MV and further peaks with lower amplitudes in the experiment needs additional argumentation.…”

Section: Discussion and Comparison With Experimentssupporting

confidence: 82%

Self-magnetic insulation in plasma opening switches

Loginov

2020

J. Plasma Phys.

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The paper analyses the penetration of a magnetic field into the plasma bridge of nanosecond and microsecond opening switches. For switches with a conduction time of ~100 ns, simple formulae are derived to estimate the magnetic field velocity in collisionless and collisional plasmas. It is shown that in both cases this velocity is determined by the magnetic field rise rate to plasma density ratio raised to the power of 1/2. As the conduction time is increased to ~1 ${\rm \mu}$ s, the field velocity starts to depend on the plasma aggregation by a magnetic piston. At the same time, irrespective of the conduction time, the electron flow velocity is limited by the radial drift velocity in crossed magnetic and polarization electric fields. Such a limitation suppresses the current channel conductivity with respect to the Spitzer value by a factor equal to the electron magnetization parameter raised to one or another power. On completion of the conduction phase, the rate of rise of the switch resistance is proportional to the electron drift velocity. The peak switch voltage obtained in calculations is compared with its values recorded in experiments on mega-ampere current switching. A procedure is also presented for calculating the switch parameters to obtain the maximum possible voltage in the phase of current cutoff.

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Section: Discussion and Comparison With Experimentssupporting

confidence: 82%

Self-magnetic insulation in plasma opening switches

Loginov

2020

J. Plasma Phys.

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“…However, in the absence of a more detailed theory, it is interesting to compare qualitatively our results with the prediction of the Hall theory. According to the Hall field theory, it can be shown [16] that the characteristic velocity of the magnetic field penetration into the plasma is given by (1) where is the magnetic field, is the electron charge, is the speed of light, and is the characteristic length scale of the electron density gradient. The Hall theory predicts a velocity that is proportional to the inverse of the electron density, which is consistent with the general trend seen in Fig.…”

Section: Magnetic Field Propagation Velocitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The POS has been applied at the 0.5 to 4 MA current levels to drive electron-beam diodes [1]- [3], [30] and z-pinches [4], [5], [31]. Howeve r, problems related to the efficiency of energy coupling to loads prohibited a wide use of the technique.…”

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confidence: 99%

On the Role of the Plasma Composition in the Magnetic Field Evolution in Plasma Opening Switches

Osin

Doron

Arad

et al. 2004

IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.

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Abstract-High spatial-and temporal-resolution spectroscopic methods are employed to perform detailed studies of the interaction between the propagating magnetic field and a multi-ion-species plasma. The experiment is performed in a plasma-opening-switch configuration, in which a 150-kA current of 400 ns duration is conducted through a plasma. Recent observations demonstrated a new phenomenon of simultaneous rapid magnetic field penetration into the heavy-ion plasma and specular reflection of the light-ion plasma, leading to ion-species separation. Additionally, noticeable inconsistencies between experimental results and theories were found. The current paper summarizes these recent results and discusses the aspect of the role of the plasma composition in the magnetic field evolution and ion dynamics. In order to systematically investigate the effect of the plasma composition, a method for producing plasmas with controllable compositions, based on spatial species separation and electrode heating, is presented. This method allows for achieving plasmas with varying proton-to-carbon ion ratios, however, at different electron densities. Measurements are described for studying the relation between the magnetic field propagation velocity and the plasma composition and density; however, this relation is not yet satisfactorily clear.Index Terms-Magnetic field-plasma interaction, multi-ion species plasma, plasma devices, plasma spectroscopy.

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“…The efficient application of plasma opening switches (POSs) for interruption of megaampere current pulses of duration ∼ 50 ns and energy delivery to a load with substantial pulse compression (Meger et al 1983;Neri et al 1987) has stimulated research to increase the energy characteristics of generators with an inductive energy store and a POS. POSs are attractive for their very simple design being a vacuum coaxial segment filled with fully ionized and, as a rule, radially injected plasma (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cutoff of the current in plasma opening switches

Loginov¹

2012

J. Plasma Phys.

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The paper considers the erosion mechanism of operation of nano- and microsecond plasma opening switches (POSs). For this purpose, postulates of the well-known erosion model of the POS operation are reviewed and some remarks on its individual statements are discussed. A voltage scaling for a nanosecond switch with rarefied plasma (~1013 cm−3) is derived. It is shown that the peak voltage across the nanosecond switch on its opening is proportional to the switch conduction current. The formation of an erosion gap in a microsecond switch with high-density plasma (~1015 cm−3) is put to phenomenological analysis and a voltage scaling for the switch is obtained. It is found that in the microsecond switch, unlike the nanosecond switch, the peak voltage is inversely proportional to the switch conduction current.

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High voltage, high power operation of the plasma erosion opening switch

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Self-magnetic insulation in plasma opening switches

Self-magnetic insulation in plasma opening switches

On the Role of the Plasma Composition in the Magnetic Field Evolution in Plasma Opening Switches

Cutoff of the current in plasma opening switches

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