Abstract
The linear transformer driver (LTD) is a new method for constructing high current, high-voltage pulsed accelerators. The salient feature of the approach is switching and inductively adding the pulses at low voltage straight out of the capacitors through low inductance transfer and soft iron core isolation. Sandia National Laboratories are actively pursuing the development of a new class of accelerator based on the LTD technology. Presently, the high current LTD experimental research is concentrated on two aspects: first, to study the repetition rate capabilities, reliability, reproducibility of the output pulses, switch prefires, jitter, electrical power and energy efficiency, and lifetime measurements of the cavity active components; second, to study how a multicavity linear array performs in a voltage adder configuration relative to current transmission, energy and power addition, and wall plug to output pulse electrical efficiency. Here we report the repetition rate and lifetime studies performed in the Sandia High Current LTD Laboratory. We first utilized the prototype � 0:4-MA, LTD I cavity which could be reliably operated up to � 90-kV capacitor charging. Later we obtained an improved 0.5-MA, LTD II version that can be operated at � 100 kV maximum charging voltage. The experimental results presented here were obtained with both cavities and pertain to evaluating the maximum achievable repetition rate and LTD cavity performance. The voltage adder experiments with a series of double sized cavities (1 MA, � 100 kV) will be reported in future publications.
Highlights
Sandia National Laboratories are actively pursuing the development of a new class of accelerators based on the linear transformer driver (LTD) technology [1,2,3]
LTD based drivers are considered for many applications including future very high current Z-pinch inertial confinement fusion (ICF) drivers like ZX and Z-pinch inertial fusion energy (IFE) drivers
A small circuit setup composed of one switch and two capacitors connected in series ( 1⁄4 brick) was fired for 37 000 times with a repetition rate of three shots per minute with no switch or capacitor failure
Summary
Sandia National Laboratories are actively pursuing the development of a new class of accelerators based on the linear transformer driver (LTD) technology [1,2,3]. The bushes are thin aluminum plates that connect one capacitor terminal to the switches and the other to the anode or cathode electrode of the A-K gap, completing the circuit loop and bringing the pulse of the brick to the load resistor (in our laboratory cavity case) or to the accelerating A-K gap (voltage adder configuration of Fig. 3). A double-ended capacitor has the high-voltage terminal at the top and the ground terminal at the bottom of the plastic housing (similar to the 1.5 V common household batteries) This helped to decrease the length of the basic circuit loop; the inductance of the brick remains practically the same since the capacitors are part of the current loop. We can visualize them as large oversized doughnuts with flat top and bottom surfaces
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