Electrode Plasma Formation Measurements on Sandia's Mykonos Driver via a Dispersion Interferometer

A challenge for TW-class accelerators, such as Sandia's Z machine [1], is current diversion via electrode plasma formation, expansion, and gap closure in the Magnetically Insulated Transmission Lines (MITLs) [2]. To measure this electrode plasma density, a Dispersion Interferometer (DI) diagnos...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hines, N. R., Reyes, P., Lamppa, D., Awe, T., Schwarz, J., Gilmore, M.
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Density measurement
Electrodes
Optical interferometry
Plasma accelerators
Power transmission lines
Sensitivity
Transmission line measurements
Online Access:Request full text
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Summary:A challenge for TW-class accelerators, such as Sandia's Z machine [1], is current diversion via electrode plasma formation, expansion, and gap closure in the Magnetically Insulated Transmission Lines (MITLs) [2]. To measure this electrode plasma density, a Dispersion Interferometer (DI) diagnostic has been developed with a sensitivity of \sim 1x1014 {\mathrm{e}-1}/{\text{cm}^{\wedge} 2} [3]. Discussed are the required optical and electrical system upgrades for this diagnostic to make density measurements of the millimeter scale sheaths generated during the \sim 140 ns rise times of the electrode plasma formation experiments on Sandia's 650 kA Mykonos driver [4].
ISSN:2576-7208
DOI:10.1109/ICOPS45740.2023.10481153