IMPROVED FLASHBOARDS FOR HIGH POWER OPENING SWITCHES

NSRC PROPOSES AN AMBITIOUS EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM DESIGNED TO INVESTIGATE FLASHBOARD PLASMA SOURCE IMPROVEMENTS WITH APPLICATION EXISTING OPENING SWITCHES IN DNA SIMULATORS. WE WILL INVESTIGATE POWER SYSTEM OPTIONS INCLUDING DC CHARGING AND EXTERNAL TRIGGER SYSTEMS WITH MODEST TRIGGER REQUIREMENTS. MODIFICATIONS TO THE ELECTRODE GEOMETRY OF THE FLASHBOARDS ARE EXPECTED TO IMPROVE DC HOLD-OFF CAPABILITIES BY AT LEAST A FACTOR OF 3. MATERIALS AND PHYSICAL FLASHBOARD CONFIGURATIONS WILL ALSO BE VARIED WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF INCREASING PLASMA DENSITIES INTO THE >3 X 10 15TH/CM3 RANGE. THESE EXPERIMENTS WILL BE PERFORMED PRIMARILY WITH EXISTING EQUIPMENT IN AN STANDARD SETUP LEADING TO A COST EFFECTIVE PROGRAM OF TESTING WITH STANDARDIZED DIAGNOSTIC SETUPS.