Sphinx: A generator based on 1 microsecond current rise time LTD stages. Status and first results for production of soft x-ray radiation

Sphinx is the new name of the facility developed for soft X-ray production at Centre d´Etudes de Gramat (CEG), France. This facility is based on the ECF2 generator which was designed as a 1-3 MJ, 1 μs rise time, 5-10 MA current driver. In this paper, we present a detailed view of the technology used for the capacitor bank, for the central vacuum part and for the Z-pinch loads. The capacitor bank is based on the I microsecond LTD technology; it now stores 1 MJ with 12 parallel coaxial lines and 8 LTD stages per line (charged under 50 kV). We plan to have within the next 2 years, 3 MJ stored energy with 16 lines, 10 LTD stages per line (charged under 70 kV). Improvements made on the LTD stages (8 μF, 16 nH, 7.5 mOhm) and on the trigger system will be presented. The modularity of this driver and the design of central vacuum part allow to test different schemes: flux compression as power amplification stage and direct drive Z-pinches are now the main experimental setups under tests. We give details on the mechanical arrangements and some examples of experimental results, including aluminum K-shell radiation produced from 800 ns implosion time nested wire arrays.