Characterization of the conduction phase of a plasma opening switch using a hydrogen plasma

Abstract

Plasma opening switch (POS) experiments were conducted on the Hawk generator using an inverse pinch plasma source to inject a hydrogen plasma. Using a combination of interferometry, current measurements, and spectroscopic observations, it is shown that the conduction phase is characterized by the propagation of a current channel through the switch region that pushes a significant fraction of the plasma mass downstream, past the load edge of the switch. The data indicate that the current channel arrives at the load edge of the switch ≈550ns into the 950-ns-long conduction phase, in agreement with calculations based on J×B displacement. Previously published POS experiments, using multispecies plasmas, observed that a relatively small fraction of the injected plasma mass propagated downstream and that the conduction phase ended soon after the current channel reached the load edge of the switch. It is suggested that the observed differences between these two types of switches involves the separation of ionic species subject to a magnetic force, where the light-ion plasma is pushed ahead of the magnetic field front and the heavier-ion plasma is penetrated by the field. Species-separation effects may be important in a multispecies POS but would be negligible in this almost pure (>95%) proton-plasma experiment. While the important role of the plasma composition in pulsed magnetic field plasma interactions has been pointed out in previous experimental studies, this work demonstrates that the plasma composition can have a significant effect on the conduction time of a POS.