Publications Details

Retrofitted RITS Marx Generator for Laser Triggered Gas Switch Testing

Allen, Kaylee; Flynn, Max; Mockert, John; Neuber, Andreas; Dickens, James; Stephens, Jacob; Mankowski, John; Smith, Justin; Steiner, Adam M.; Leckbee, Joshua

A Marx generator module from the decommissioned RITS pulsed power machine from Sandia National Labs was modified to operate in an existing setup at Texas Tech University. This will ultimately be used as a testbed for laser triggered gas switching. The existing experimental setup at Texas Tech University consists of a large Marx tank, an oil-filled coaxial pulse forming line, an adjustable peaking gap, and load section along with various diagnostics. The setup was previously operated at a lower voltage than the new experiment, so electrostatic modeling was done to ensure viability and drive needed modifications. The oil tank will house the modified RITS Marx. This Marx contains half as many stages as the original RITS module and has an expected output of 1 MV. A trigger Marx generator consisting of 8 stages has been fabricated to trigger the RITS Marx. Charging and triggering of both Marx generators will be controlled through a fiber optic network. The output from the modified RITS Marx will be used to charge the oil-filled coaxial line acting as a low impedance pulse forming line (PFL). Once charged, the self-breaking peaking gap will close, allowing the compressed pulse to be released into the load section. For testing of the Marx module and PFL, a match 10 Ω water load was fabricated. The output pulsewidth is 55 nsec. Diagnostics include two capacitive voltage probes on either side of the peaking gap, a quarter-turn Rogowski coil for load current measurement, and a Pearson coil for calibrations purposes.