Performance of gas-puffing inverse pinch switch for pulsed power system

The design technology of a closing switch, especially inverse pinch switch (IPS) triggered by N/sub 2/ gas for a high voltage and current is described in this paper. Also, the capacitor banks, control system, dc charging system, and high-current cable system, etc., are introduced. In contrast to a conventional trigatron switch in which the current is constricted by a z-pinch mechanism, the new switch operates in an inverse-pinch geometry formed by a metal chamber, greatly reducing hot-spot formations on the electrode surfaces. A prototype of the IPS with a N/sub 2/ gas-puffing trigger was fabricated for breaking a large current up to 250 kA. The geometry of the IPS not only eliminates the z-pinch effects, but utilizes J/spl times/B=F force for reducing the current density. Force acting on the plasma is directed radially outward in the IPS. The annular current path is radially dispersed, which results in a low current density, running-arc mode, and a low inductance. It was shown that in comparison with the spark gap, the switch inductance and current density of the IPS are largely reduced and the useful lifetime is significantly increased. The IPS enabled the closing of very high voltage and current.