One-kilojoule pulsed-power generator for laboratory space sciences

This paper reports on the assembly of a compact, low-cost, pulsed-power facility used for plasma studies. The construction uses two modules placed on opposite sides of the test chamber to minimize the system impedance and improve access to test samples. The stored energy is 1 kJ with a peak current of 135 kA and a 1592 ns quarter-period time. Up until now, an imploding conical-wire array has been studied by using time-integrated (visible) imaging, and time-resolved laser imaging, providing a measure of the plasma jet speed in the range of 170 km/s. Our future plans will continue to investigate high-energy-density plasmas that are relevant to the space environment, fusion, and spectroscopy.