This research program involves the study of energy storage and transfer in both capacitive and inductive pulsed-power systems at the multiterrawatt level. The use of inductive energy storage is attractive because of its inherent high-energy density and resultant compactness. Opening switches are of major importance for such systems. Research on slow-switching (≈ 1 μ sec) and fast-switching (≈ 100 ns) techniques is being conducted, with emphasis on plasma opening switches, and on diagnosing and understanding the plasma physics that is associated with the switching process. Power flow in such systems is also being studied, including the effects of magnetically insulated electron flow in transmission lines and coupling to loads. Experimental work is supported by a strong theoretical effort in this area. Both analytical work and numerical simulations are used to examine the physics of the various system components, and system studies are used to evaluate and optimize the efficiency of the overall system.

Available facilities include (1) Gamble II generator-0.8 MA, 1.6 MV, 60-ns full width at half maximum; (2) Hawk inductive store generator-0.8 MA, 0.72 MV, 1 μs current rise; (3) Mercury inductive voltage adder-360 KA, 8 MV, 50-ns, full width at half maximum; (4) electromagnetic launch facilities; (5) several vacuum test-stands; and (6) various plasma diagnostics, including a highly sensitive, two-color interferometer.