Interferometer diagnostics of plasma current open switch injector

Summary form only given, as follows. The dynamic characteristics of plasma, flying out from injector to vacuum chamber of a plasma current open switch, are studied experimentally. Investigations were made using Michelson interferometer on the wavelength of He-Ne-laser (633 nm). Fast photorecorder FPR, operating in the regime of slit sweep with time resolution of 0.1 /spl mu/s, was used for recording of interference pattern. Plasma diagnostics was performed with two orientations of FPR slit-along plasma flux direction and perpendicular to it. Experiments have showed that free plasma electrons plays the main role in the change of refraction index. Error in determination of electrons linear density did not exceed 15/spl times/10/sup 15/ cm/sup -2/. Interferometer measurements show that at optimum operating regime plasma injector allows to create electron linear density of about 4/spl times/10/sup 17/ cm/sup -2/ in interelectrode gap. This corresponds to average electrons concentrations in the plasma column of 1/spl times/10/sup 17/ cm/sup -3/.