We present an overview of the magneto-inertial fusion (MIF) concept Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) pursued at Sandia National Laboratories and review some of the most prominent results since the initial experiments in 2013. In MagLIF, a centimeter-scale beryllium tube or 'liner' is filled with a fusion fuel, axially pre-magnetized, laser pre-heated, and finally imploded using up to 20 MA from the Z machine. All of these elements are necessary to generate a thermonuclear plasma: laser preheating raises the initial temperature of the fuel, the electrical current implodes the liner and quasi-adiabatically compresses the fuel via the Lorentz force, and the axial magnetic field limits thermal conduction from the hot plasma to the cold liner walls during the implosion. MagLIF is the first MIF concept to demonstrate fusion relevant temperatures, significant fusion production (>1013 primary DD neutron yield), and magnetic trapping of charged fusion particles. On a 60 MA next-generation pulsed-power machine, two-dimensional simulations suggest that MagLIF has the potential to generate multi-MJ yields with significant self-heating, a long-term goal of the US Stockpile Stewardship Program. At currents exceeding 65 MA, the high gains required for fusion energy could be achievable.
Timing spread between the thirty-six Saturn modules affects peak electrical power delivered to the Bremsstrahlung diode and can affect vacuum power flow and impedance behavior of the load. To reduce the module spread, a new megavolt gas-insulated closing switch was developed employing design techniques developed for the Z-machine laser triggered switches while retaining Saturn’s simpler electrical triggering. Two modules were temporarily outfitted with the new switches and used separately into local resistive loads (instead of the usual Saturn electron beam load). A reliable operating point and switch time jitter at that point were the goals of the experiments. The target switch reliability is less than one pre-fire in one thousand switch-shots, and a timing standard deviation of 4 nanoseconds. The switches were able to meet both requirements but the number of tests at the chosen point are limited.
We present experimental results from the first systematic study of performance scaling with drive parameters for a magnetoinertial fusion concept. In magnetized liner inertial fusion experiments, the burn-averaged ion temperature doubles to 3.1 keV and the primary deuterium-deuterium neutron yield increases by more than an order of magnitude to 1.1×1013 (2 kJ deuterium-tritium equivalent) through a simultaneous increase in the applied magnetic field (from 10.4 to 15.9 T), laser preheat energy (from 0.46 to 1.2 kJ), and current coupling (from 16 to 20 MA). Individual parametric scans of the initial magnetic field and laser preheat energy show the expected trends, demonstrating the importance of magnetic insulation and the impact of the Nernst effect for this concept. A drive-current scan shows that present experiments operate close to the point where implosion stability is a limiting factor in performance, demonstrating the need to raise fuel pressure as drive current is increased. Simulations that capture these experimental trends indicate that another order of magnitude increase in yield on the Z facility is possible with additional increases of input parameters.
The Saturn X-ray generator is a 2.5 megavolt, 10 megampere electrical driver at Sandia National Laboratories. Saturn has been in operation for more than 30 years. Work is underway to identify key areas of the machine, improvement of which would benefit operational efficiency and reproducibility of the system. Saturn is used to create high-dose, short-pulse intense ionizing radiation environments for testing electronic and mechanical systems. Saturn has 36 identical modules driving a common electron beam bremsstrahlung load. Each module utilizes a microsecond Marx generator, a megavolt gas switch, and untriggered water switches in a largely conventional pulse-forming system. Achieving predictable and reliable radiation exposure is critical for users of the facility. Saturn has endured decades of continual use with minimal opportunities for research, improvements, or significant preventive maintenance. Because of degradation in components and limited attention to electrical performance, the facility has declined both in the number of useful tests per year and their repeatability. The Saturn system resides in a cylindrical tank 33m in diameter, and stores 5.6 MJ at the nominal operating Marx charge voltage. The system today is essentially identical to that described by Bloomquist in 1987. [1] Advances in technology for large pulsed power systems affords opportunities to improve the performance and more efficiently utilize the energy stored. Increased efficiency can improve reliability and reduce maintenance. The goals for the Saturn improvement work are increased shot rate, reduced X-ray dose shot-To-shot dose fluctuation, and reduced required maintenance. Major redesign with alternate pulsed power technology is considered outside the scope of this effort. More X-ray dose, larger exposure area, and lower X-ray endpoint energy are also important considerations but also deemed outside the scope of the present project due to schedule and resource constraints. The first considerations, described here, are improving the present design with better components.
Herein we describe the design, simulation and performance of a 118-GW linear transformer driver (LTD) cavity at Sandia National Laboratories. The cavity consists of 20 to 24 'Bricks'. Each brick is comprised of two 80 nF, 100 kV capacitors connected electrically in series with a custom, 200 kV, three-electrode, field-distortion gas switch. The brick capacitors are bi-polar charged to a total of 200 kV. Typical brick circuit parameters are 40 nF (two 80 nF capacitors in series) and 160 nH inductance. Over the course of over 10,000 shots the cavity generated a peak electrical current and power of 1.19 MA and 118 GW.
Here we present details of the design, simulation, and performance of a 100-GW linear transformer driver (LTD) cavity at Sandia National Laboratories. The cavity consists of 20 “bricks.” Each brick is comprised of two 80 nF, 100 kV capacitors connected electrically in series with a custom, 200 kV, three-electrode, field-distortion gas switch. The brick capacitors are bipolar charged to ±100 kV for a total switch voltage of 200 kV. Typical brick circuit parameters are 40 nF capacitance (two 80 nF capacitors in series) and 160 nH inductance. The switch electrodes are fabricated from a WCu alloy and are operated with breathable air. Over the course of 6,556 shots the cavity generated a peak electrical current and power of 1.03 MA (±1.8%) and 106 GW (±3.1%). Experimental results are consistent (to within uncertainties) with circuit simulations for normal operation, and expected failure modes including prefire and late-fire events. New features of this development that are reported here in detail include: (1) 100 ns, 1 MA, 100-GW output from a 2.2 m diameter LTD into a 0.1 Ω load, (2) high-impedance solid charging resistors that are optimized for this application, and (3) evaluation of maintenance-free trigger circuits using capacitive coupling and inductive isolation.
The Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion concept (MagLIF) [Slutz et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 056303 (2010)] is being studied on the Z facility at Sandia National Laboratories. Neutron yields greater than 1012 have been achieved with a drive current in the range of 17-18 MA and pure deuterium fuel [Gomez et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 155003 (2014)]. We show that 2D simulated yields are about twice the best yields obtained on Z and that a likely cause of this difference is the mix of material into the fuel. Mitigation strategies are presented. Previous numerical studies indicate that much larger yields (10-1000 MJ) should be possible with pulsed power machines producing larger drive currents (45-60 MA) than can be produced by the Z machine [Slutz et al., Phys. Plasmas 23, 022702 (2016)]. To test the accuracy of these 2D simulations, we present modifications to MagLIF experiments using the existing Z facility, for which 2D simulations predict a 100-fold enhancement of MagLIF fusion yields and considerable increases in burn temperatures. Experimental verification of these predictions would increase the credibility of predictions at higher drive currents.
The Z machine is a 36-module, multi-megavolt, low impedance magnetic pressure driver for high-energy-density physics experiments. In 2007, a major re-build doubled the stored energy and increased the peak current capability of Z. The upgraded system routinely drives 27 MA through low inductance dynamic loads with 110 nanosecond time to peak current. The Z pulsed power system is expected to be prepared for a full-energy experiment every day, with a small (<2%) chance of pulsed power system failure, and ±2 ns timing precision. To maintain that schedule with 20 MJ stored, it becomes essential to minimize failures that can damage hardware. We will show the results of several improvements made to the system that reduce spurious breakdowns and improve precision. In most cases, controlling electric fields is key, both to reliable insulation and to precision switching. The upgraded Z pulsed power system was originally intended to operate with 5 MV peak voltage in the pulse-forming section. Recent operation has been above 6 MV. Critical items in the pulsed power system are the DC-charged Marx generators, oil-water barriers, laser-triggered gas switches, and the vacuum insulator. We will show major improvements to the laser-triggered gas switches, and the water-insulated pulse forming lines, as well as delivered current reproducibility results from user experiments on the machine.
The Z pulsed power driver at Sandia National Laboratories is used for a wide range of high energy density physics experiments in areas such as inertial confinement fusion, radiation effects, and dynamic material properties. Experimental demands are pushing for the highest energy attainable with more reliability and precision in timing and pulse compression. A previous version of the laser-triggered gas switch had been made reliable at voltages up to 5.7 MV, allowing 5 nanosecond load accuracy. The desire for higher energy and higher precision dictated a new laser-triggered switch design. In Z, 36 DC-charged Marx generators pulse-charge water-insulated capacitors in 1.5 microseconds. The laser-triggered gas switch commutes the energy stored in the water-insulated capacitor to subsequent pulse compression stages that utilize self-closing water switches. The laser-triggered switch is the last command triggered switch in the chain, and largely determines the temporal accuracy of the total load current. Both switches consist of a laser triggered section and a self-closing cascade section. The previous design required a trigger plate to provide mechanical support for the cascade section. With fixed laser energy, it was impossible to increase the triggered fraction of the switch. Because of the trigger support plate that affects the field distribution after triggering, establishing an operating pressure that provides a reliable balance between low pre-fire rate and low jitter becomes difficult, and more so at higher voltage. The new switch uses a cantilevered design that increases the electric stress in the self-closing section after triggering, even with a slightly-reduced triggered gap. It was required that the new design work within the same operating space and infrastructure as the previous. We will show details of the design and features necessary for reliable operation in the extreme electrical and mechanical environment presented by daily operation on Z.
National Security Technologies (NSTec) is developing dense plasma focus (DPF) systems for applications requiring intense pulsed neutron sources. Sandia National Laboratories participated in a limited number of experiments with one of those systems. In collaboration with NSTec, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, we installed additional electrical and X-ray image measurements in parallel with normal operation of the system. Dense plasma focus machines have been studied for decades, but much of the experimental interest has been on neutron and X-ray yield. The primary goal for the present work was to develop and field high-fidelity and traceably-calibrated current and voltage measurements for comparison to digital simulations. The secondary goals were to utilize the current and voltage measurements to add general understanding of vacuum insulator behavior and current sheath dynamics. We also conducted initial scoping studies of soft X-ray diagnostics. We will show the electrical diagnostics and the techniques used to acquire high-fidelity signals in the difficult environment of the 2 MA, 6 μ plasma focus drive pulse. We will show how we measure accreted plasma mass non-invasively, and the sensitivity to background fill density. We will present initial qualitative results from filtered X-ray pinhole images and spectroscopic data from the pinch region.
We have conceived a new class of prime-power sources for pulsed-power accelerators: impedance-matched Marx generators (IMGs). The fundamental building block of an IMG is a brick, which consists of two capacitors connected electrically in series with a single switch. An IMG comprises a single stage or several stages distributed axially and connected in series. Each stage is powered by a single brick or several bricks distributed azimuthally within the stage and connected in parallel. The stages of a multistage IMG drive an impedance-matched coaxial transmission line with a conical center conductor. When the stages are triggered sequentially to launch a coherent traveling wave along the coaxial line, the IMG achieves electromagnetic-power amplification by triggered emission of radiation. Hence a multistage IMG is a pulsed-power analogue of a laser. To illustrate the IMG approach to prime power, we have developed conceptual designs of two ten-stage IMGs with LC time constants on the order of 100 ns. One design includes 20 bricks per stage, and delivers a peak electrical power of 1.05 TW to a matched-impedance 1.22-Ω load. The design generates 113 kV per stage and has a maximum energy efficiency of 89%. The other design includes a single brick per stage, delivers 68 GW to a matched-impedance 19-Ω load, generates 113 kV per stage, and has a maximum energy efficiency of 90%. For a given electrical-power-output time history, an IMG is less expensive and slightly more efficient than a linear transformer driver, since an IMG does not use ferromagnetic cores.
In this study, we have developed a conceptual design of a next-generation pulsed-power accelerator that is optmized for driving megajoule-class dynamic-material-physics experiments at pressures as high as 1 TPa. The design is based on an accelerator architecture that is founded on three concepts: single-stage electrical-pulse compression, impedance matching, and transit-time-isolated drive circuits. Since much of the accelerator is water insulated, we refer to this machine as Neptune. The prime power source of Neptune consists of 600 independent impedance-matched Marx generators. As much as 0.8 MJ and 20 MA can be delivered in a 300-ns pulse to a 16-mΩ physics load; hence Neptune is a megajoule-class 20-MA arbitrary waveform generator. Neptune will allow the international scientific community to conduct dynamic equation-of-state, phase-transition, mechanical-property, and other material-physics experiments with a wide variety of well-defined drive-pressure time histories. Because Neptune can deliver on the order of a megajoule to a load, such experiments can be conducted on centimeter-scale samples at terapascal pressures with time histories as long as 1 μs.
Several magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF) experiments have been conducted on the Z accelerator at Sandia National Laboratories since late 2013. Measurements of the primary DD (2.45 MeV) neutrons for these experiments suggest that the neutron production is thermonuclear. Primary DD yields up to 3e12 with ion temperatures ∼2-3 keV have been achieved. Measurements of the secondary DT (14 MeV) neutrons indicate that the fuel is significantly magnetized. Measurements of down-scattered neutrons from the beryllium liner suggest ρRliner∼1g/cm2. Neutron bang times, estimated from neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) measurements, coincide with peak x-ray production. Plans to improve and expand the Z neutron diagnostic suite include neutron burn-history diagnostics, increased sensitivity and higher precision nTOF detectors, and neutron recoil-based yield and spectral measurements.
An experiment platform has been designed to study vacuum power flow in magnetically insulated transmission lines (MITLs) the platform is driven by the Mykonos-V LTD accelerator to drive a coaxial MITL with a millimeter-scale anode-cathode gap the experiments conducted quantify the current loss in the MITL with respect to vacuum pumpdown time and vacuum pressure. MITL gaps between 1.0 mm and 1.3 mm were tested the experiment results revealed large differences in performance for the 1.0 and 1.3 mm gaps the 1.0 mm gap resulted in current losses of 40%-60% of the peak current the 1.3 mm gap resulted in current losses of less than 5% of peak current. Classical MITL models that neglect plasma expansion predict that there should be zero current loss, after magnetic insulation is established, for both of these gaps.
The Sandia National Laboratories SPHINX accelerator is used to study the response of electronics to pulsed x-ray and electron environments. The system consists of a Marx generator and an oil-insulated pulse-forming line with self-closing oil switches. SPHINX has a peak load voltage of 2 MV and an adjustable pulse width ranging from 3 to 10 ns. The previous pulsed-power system had reliability and triggering issues with the Marx generator and subsequent undesired variations in voltage output. SPHINX was upgraded to a new Marx-generator system that has solved many of the voltage-output fluctuation and timing issues. The new Marx generator uses recently developed low-inductance 100-kV capacitors and 200-kV spark-gap switches. This paper provides an overview of SPHINX while capturing in detail the design, characterization, and comparative performance of the new Marx generator.
Eighty years ago, it was proposed that solid hydrogen would become metallic at sufficiently high density. Despite numerous investigations, this transition has not yet been experimentally observed. More recently, there has been much interest in the analog of this predicted metallic transition in the dense liquid, due to its relevance to planetary science. Here, we show direct observation of an abrupt insulator-to-metal transition in dense liquid deuterium. Experimental determination of the location of this transition provides a much-needed benchmark for theory and may constrain the region of hydrogen-helium immiscibility and the boundary-layer pressure in standard models of the internal structure of gas-giant planets.
By magnetizing the fusion fuel in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) systems, the required stagnation pressure and density can be relaxed dramatically. This happens because the magnetic field insulates the hot fuel from the cold pusher and traps the charged fusion burn products. This trapping allows the burn products to deposit their energy in the fuel, facilitating plasma self-heating. Here, we report on a comprehensive theory of this trapping in a cylindrical DD plasma magnetized with a purely axial magnetic field. Using this theory, we are able to show that the secondary fusion reactions can be used to infer the magnetic field-radius product, BR, during fusion burn. This parameter, not ρR, is the primary confinement parameter in magnetized ICF. Using this method, we analyze data from recent Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion experiments conducted on the Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories. We show that in these experiments BR ≈ 0.34(+0.14/-0.06) MG cm, a ∼ 14x increase in BR from the initial value, and confirming that the DD-fusion tritons are magnetized at stagnation. This is the first experimental verification of charged burn product magnetization facilitated by compression of an initial seed magnetic flux.
The magnetized liner inertial fusion concept [S. A. Slutz et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 056303 (2010)] utilizes a magnetic field and laser heating to relax the pressure requirements of inertial confinement fusion. The first experiments to test the concept [M. R. Gomez et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 155003 (2014)] were conducted utilizing the 19 MA, 100-ns Z machine, the 2.5-kJ, 1 TW Z Beamlet laser, and the 10-T Applied B-field on Z system. Despite an estimated implosion velocity of only 70-km/s in these experiments, electron and ion temperatures at stagnation were as high as 3-keV, and thermonuclear deuterium-deuterium neutron yields up to 2-×-1012 have been produced. X-ray emission from the fuel at stagnation had widths ranging from 50 to 110 μm over a roughly 80% of the axial extent of the target (6-8-mm) and lasted approximately 2-ns. X-ray yields from these experiments are consistent with a stagnation density of the hot fuel equal to 0.2-0.4-g/cm3. In these experiments, up to 5-×-1010 secondary deuterium-tritium neutrons were produced. Given that the areal density of the plasma was approximately 1-2-mg/cm2, this indicates the stagnation plasma was significantly magnetized, which is consistent with the anisotropy observed in the deuterium-tritium neutron spectra. Control experiments where the laser and/or magnetic field were not utilized failed to produce stagnation temperatures greater than 1-keV and primary deuterium-deuterium yields greater than 1010. An additional control experiment where the fuel contained a sufficient dopant fraction to substantially increase radiative losses also failed to produce a relevant stagnation temperature. The results of these experiments are consistent with a thermonuclear neutron source.
The standard approaches to inertial confinement fusion (ICF) rely on implosion velocities greater than 300 km/s and spherical convergence to achieve the high fuel temperatures (T > 4 keV) and areal densities (ρr > 0.3 g/cm2) required for ignition1. Such high velocities are achieved by heating the outside surface of a spherical capsuleeither directly with a large number of laser beams (Direct Drive) or with x-rays generated within a hohlraum (Indirect Drive). A much more energetically efficient approach is to use the magnetic pressure generated by a pulsed power machine to directly drive an implosion. In this approach 5-10% of the stored energy can be converted to the implosion of a metal tube generally referred to as a “liner”. However, the implosion velocity is not very high 70-100 km/s and the convergence is cylindrical (rather than spherical) making it more difficult to achieve the high temperatures and areal densities needed for ignition.
Presented are voltage measurements taken near the load region on the Z pulsed-power accelerator using an inductive voltage monitor (IVM). Specifically, the IVM was connected to, and thus monitored the voltage at, the bottom level of the accelerator's vacuum double post-hole convolute. Additional voltage and current measurements were taken at the accelerator's vacuum-insulator stack (at a radius of 1.6 m) by using standard D-dot and B-dot probes, respectively. During postprocessing, the measurements taken at the stack were translated to the location of the IVM measurements by using a lossless propagation model of the Z accelerator's magnetically insulated transmission lines (MITLs) and a lumped inductor model of the vacuum post-hole convolute. Across a wide variety of experiments conducted on the Z accelerator, the voltage histories obtained from the IVM and the lossless propagation technique agree well in overall shape and magnitude. However, large-amplitude, high-frequency oscillations are more pronounced in the IVM records. It is unclear whether these larger oscillations represent true voltage oscillations at the convolute or if they are due to noise pickup and/or transit-time effects and other resonant modes in the IVM. Results using a transit-time-correction technique and Fourier analysis support the latter. Regardless of which interpretation is correct, both true voltage oscillations and the excitement of resonant modes could be the result of transient electrical breakdowns in the post-hole convolute, though more information is required to determine definitively if such breakdowns occurred. Despite the larger oscillations in the IVM records, the general agreement found between the lossless propagation results and the results of the IVM shows that large voltages are transmitted efficiently through the MITLs on Z. These results are complementary to previous studies [R.D. McBride et al., Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 13, 120401 (2010)] that showed efficient transmission of large currents through the MITLs on Z. Taken together, the two studies demonstrate the overall efficient delivery of very large electrical powers through the MITLs on Z.
This Letter presents results from the first fully integrated experiments testing the magnetized liner inertial fusion concept [S.A. Slutz et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 056303 (2010)], in which a cylinder of deuterium gas with a preimposed axial magnetic field of 10 T is heated by Z beamlet, a 2.5 kJ, 1 TW laser, and magnetically imploded by a 19 MA current with 100 ns rise time on the Z facility. Despite a predicted peak implosion velocity of only 70 km/s, the fuel reaches a stagnation temperature of approximately 3 keV, with Te ≈ Ti, and produces up to 2e12 thermonuclear DD neutrons. In this study, X-ray emission indicates a hot fuel region with full width at half maximum ranging from 60 to 120 μm over a 6 mm height and lasting approximately 2 ns. The number of secondary deuterium-tritium neutrons observed was greater than 1010, indicating significant fuel magnetization given that the estimated radial areal density of the plasma is only 2 mg/cm2.
Future pulsed power systems may rely on linear transformer driver (LTD) technology. The LTD's will be the building blocks for a driver that can deliver higher current than the Z-Machine. The LTD's would require tens of thousands of low inductance ( %3C 85nH), high voltage (200 kV DC) switches with high reliability and long lifetime ( 10 4 shots). Sandia's Z-Machine employs 36 megavolt class switches that are laser triggered by a single channel discharge. This is feasible for tens of switches but the high inductance and short switch life- time associated with the single channel discharge are undesirable for future machines. Thus the fundamental problem is how to lower inductance and losses while increasing switch life- time and reliability. These goals can be achieved by increasing the number of current-carrying channels. The rail gap switch is ideal for this purpose. Although those switches have been extensively studied during the past decades, each effort has only characterized a particular switch. There is no comprehensive understanding of the underlying physics that would allow predictive capability for arbitrary switch geometry. We have studied rail gap switches via an extensive suite of advanced diagnostics in synergy with theoretical physics and advanced modeling capability. Design and topology of multichannel switches as they relate to discharge dynamics are investigated. This involves electrically and optically triggered rail gaps, as well as discrete multi-site switch concepts.
Novel experimental data are reported that reveal helical instability formation on imploding z -pinch liners that are premagnetized with an axial field. Such instabilities differ dramatically from the mostly azimuthally symmetric instabilities that form on unmagnetized liners. The helical structure persists at nearly constant pitch as the liner implodes. This is surprising since, at the liner surface, the azimuthal drive field presumably dwarfs the axial field for all but the earliest stages of the experiment. These fundamentally 3D results provide a unique and challenging test for 3D-magnetohydrodynamics simulations.
MHD models of imploding loads fielded on the Z accelerator are typically driven by reduced or simplified circuit representations of the generator. The performance of many of the imploding loads is critically dependent on the current and power delivered to them, so may be strongly influenced by the generators response to their implosion. Current losses diagnosed in the transmission lines approaching the load are further known to limit the energy delivery, while exhibiting some load dependence. Through comparing the convolute performance of a wide variety of short pulse Z loads we parameterize a convolute loss resistance applicable between different experiments. We incorporate this, and other current loss terms into a transmission line representation of the Z vacuum section. We then apply this model to study the current delivery to a wide variety of wire array and MagLif style liner loads.
Tests are ongoing to conduct ~20 MA z-pinch implosions on the Z accelerator at Sandia National Laboratory using Ar, Kr, and D2 gas puffs as the imploding loads. The relatively high cost of operations on a machine of this scale imposes stringent requirements on the functionality, reliability, and safety of gas puff hardware. Here we describe the development of a prototype gas puff system including the multiple-shell nozzles, electromagnetic drivers for each nozzle's valve, a UV pre-ionizer, and an inductive isolator to isolate the ~2.4 MV machine voltage pulse present at the gas load from the necessary electrical and fluid connections made to the puff system from outside the Z vacuum chamber. This paper shows how the assembly couples to the overall Z system and presents data taken to validate the functionality of the overall system.
Two versions of a current driver for single-turn, single-use 1-cm diameter magnetic field coils have been built and tested at the Sandia National Laboratories for use with cluster fusion experiments at the University of Texas in Austin. These coils are used to provide axial magnetic fields to slow radial loss of electrons from laser-produced deuterium plasmas. Typical peak field strength achievable for the two-capacitor system is 50 T, and 200 T for the ten-capacitor system. Current rise time for both systems is about 1.7 {mu}s, with peak current of 500 kA and 2 MA, respectively. Because the coil must be brought to the laser, the driver needs to be portable and drive currents in vacuum. The drivers are complete but laser-plasma experiments are still in progress. Therefore, in this report, we focus on system design, initial tests, and performance characteristics of the two-capacitor and ten-capacitors systems. The questions of whether a 200 T magnetic field can retard the breakup of a cluster-fusion plasma, and whether this field can enhance neutron production have not yet been answered. However, tools have been developed that will enable producing the magnetic fields needed to answer these questions. These are a two-capacitor, 400-kA system that was delivered to the University of Texas in 2010, and a 2-MA ten-capacitor system delivered this year. The first system allowed initial testing, and the second system will be able to produce the 200 T magnetic fields needed for cluster fusion experiments with a petawatt laser. The prototype 400-kA magnetic field driver system was designed and built to test the design concept for the system, and to verify that a portable driver system could be built that delivers current to a magnetic field coil in vacuum. This system was built copying a design from a fixed-facility, high-field machine at LANL, but made to be portable and to use a Z-machine-like vacuum insulator and vacuum transmission line. This system was sent to the University of Texas in Austin where magnetic fields up to 50 T have been produced in vacuum. Peak charge voltage and current for this system have been 100 kV and 490 kA. It was used this last year to verify injection of deuterium and surrogate clusters into these small, single-turn coils without shorting the coil. Initial test confirmed the need to insulate the inner surface of the coil, which requires that the clusters must be injected through small holes in an insulator. Tests with a low power laser confirmed that it is possible to inject clusters into the magnetic field coils through these holes without destroying the clusters. The university team also learned the necessity of maintaining good vacuum to avoid insulator, transmission line, and coil shorting. A 200-T, 2 MA system was also constructed using the experience from the first design to make the pulsed-power system more robust. This machine is a copy of the prototype design, but with ten 100-kV capacitors versus the two used in the prototype. It has additional inductance in the switch/capacitor unit to avoid breakdown seen in the prototype design. It also has slightly more inductance at the cable connection to the vacuum chamber. With this design we have been able to demonstrate 1 MA current into a 1 cm diameter coil with the vacuum chamber at air pressure. Circuit code simulations, including the additional inductance with the new design, agree well with the measured current at a charge voltage of 40 kV with a short circuit load, and at 50 kV with a coil. The code also predicts that with a charge voltage of 97 kV we will be able to get 2 MA into a 1 cm diameter coil, which will be sufficient for 200 T fields. Smaller diameter or multiple-turn coils will be able to achieve even higher fields, or be able to achieve 200-T fields with lower charge voltage. Work is now proceeding at the university under separate funding to verify operation at the 2-MA level, and to address issues of debris mitigation, measurement of the magnetic field, and operation in vacuum. We anticipate operation at full current with single-turn, magnetic field coils this fall, with 200 T experiments on the Texas Petawatt laser in the spring of 2012.
Recent experiments on the refurbished Z-machine were conducted using large diameter stainless steel arrays which produced x-ray powers of 260 TW. Follow-up experiments were then conducted utilizing tungsten wires with approximately the same total mass with the hypothesis that the total x-ray power would increase. On the large diameter tungsten experiments, the x-ray power averaged over 300 TW and the total x-ray energy was greater than 2MJ. Different analysis techniques for inferring the x-ray power will be described in detail.
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M., USA, in collaboration with the High Current Electronic Institute (HCEI), Tomsk, Russia, is developing a new paradigm in pulsed power technology: the Linear Transformer Driver (LTD) technology. This technological approach can provide very compact devices that can deliver very fast high current and high voltage pulses straight out of the cavity with out any complicated pulse forming and pulse compression network. Through multistage inductively insulated voltage adders, the output pulse, increased in voltage amplitude, can be applied directly to the load. The load may be a vacuum electron diode, a z-pinch wire array, a gas puff, a liner, an isentropic compression load (ICE) to study material behavior under very high magnetic fields, or a fusion energy (IFE) target. This is because the output pulse rise time and width can be easily tailored to the specific application needs. In this paper we briefly summarize the developmental work done in Sandia and HCEI during the last few years, and describe our new MYKONOS Sandia High Current LTD Laboratory. An extensive evaluation of the LTD technology is being performed at SNL and the High Current Electronic Institute (HCEI) in Tomsk Russia. Two types of High Current LTD cavities (LTD I-II, and 1-MA LTD) were constructed and tested individually and in a voltage adder configuration (1-MA cavity only). All cavities performed remarkably well and the experimental results are in full agreement with analytical and numerical calculation predictions. A two-cavity voltage adder is been assembled and currently undergoes evaluation. This is the first step towards the completion of the 10-cavity, 1-TW module. This MYKONOS voltage adder will be the first ever IVA built with a transmission line insulated with deionized water. The LTD II cavity renamed LTD III will serve as a test bed for evaluating a number of different types of switches, resistors, alternative capacitor configurations, cores and other cavity components. Experimental results will be presented at the Conference and in future publications.
The magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instability is the most important instability for determining whether a cylindrical liner can be compressed to its axis in a relatively intact form, a requirement for achieving the high pressures needed for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and other high energy-density physics applications. While there are many published RT studies, there are a handful of well-characterized MRT experiments at time scales >1 {micro}s and none for 100 ns z-pinch implosions. Experiments used solid Al liners with outer radii of 3.16 mm and thicknesses of 292 {micro}m, dimensions similar to magnetically-driven ICF target designs [1]. In most tests the MRT instability was seeded with sinusoidal perturbations ({lambda} = 200, 400 {micro}m, peak-to-valley amplitudes of 10, 20 {micro}m, respectively), wavelengths similar to those predicted to dominate near stagnation. Radiographs show the evolution of the MRT instability and the effects of current-induced ablation of mass from the liner surface. Additional Al liner tests used 25-200 {micro}m wavelengths and flat surfaces. Codes being used to design magnetized liner ICF loads [1] match the features seen except at the smallest scales (<50 {micro}m). Recent experiments used Be liners to enable penetrating radiography using the same 6.151 keV diagnostics and provide an in-flight measurement of the liner density profile.
In addressing the issue of the determining the hazard categorization of the Z Accelerator of doing Special Nuclear Material (SNM) experiments the question arose as to whether the machine could be fired with its central vacuum chamber open, thus providing a path for airborne release of SNM materials. In this report we summarize calculations that show that we could only expect a maximum current of 460 kA into such a load in a long-pulse mode, which will be used for the SNM experiments, and 750 kA in a short-pulse mode, which is not useful for these experiments. We also investigated the effect of the current for both cases and found that for neither case is the current high enough to either melt or vaporize these loads, with a melt threshold of 1.6 MA. Therefore, a necessary condition to melt, vaporize, or otherwise disperse SNM material is that a vacuum must exist in the Z vacuum chamber. Thus the vacuum chamber serves as a passive feature that prevents any airborne release during the shot, regardless of whatever containment may be in place.
Present-day pulsed-power systems operating in the terawatt regime typically use post-hole convolute current adders to operate at sufficiently low impedance. These adders necessarily involve magnetic nulls that connect the positive and negative electrodes. The resultant loss of magnetic insulation results in electron losses in the vicinity of the nulls that can severely limit the efficiency of the delivery of the system's energy to a load. In this report, we describe an alternate transformer-based approach to obtaining low impedance. The transformer consists of coils whose windings are in parallel rather than in series, and does not suffer from the presence of magnetic nulls. By varying the pitch of the coils windings, the current multiplication ratio can be varied, leading to a more versatile driver. The coupling efficiency of the transformer, its behavior in the presence of electron flow, and its mechanical strength are issues that need to be addressed to evaluate the potential of transformer-based current multiplication as a viable alternative to conventional current adder technology.
Switching can be considered to be the essence of pulsed power. Time accurate switch/trigger systems with low inductance are useful in many applications. This article describes a unique switch geometry coupled with a low-inductance capacitive energy store. The system provides a fast-rising high voltage pulse into a low impedance load. It can be challenging to generate high voltage (more than 50 kilovolts) into impedances less than 10 {Omega}, from a low voltage control signal with a fast rise time and high temporal accuracy. The required power amplification is large, and is usually accomplished with multiple stages. The multiple stages can adversely affect the temporal accuracy and the reliability of the system. In the present application, a highly reliable and low jitter trigger generator was required for the Z pulsed-power facility [M. E. Savage, L. F. Bennett, D. E. Bliss, W. T. Clark, R. S. Coats,J. M. Elizondo, K. R. LeChien, H. C. Harjes, J. M. Lehr, J. E. Maenchen, D. H. McDaniel, M. F. Pasik, T. D. Pointon, A. C. Owen, D. B. Seidel, D. L. Smith, B. S. Stoltzfus, K.W. Struve, W.A. Stygar, L.K. Warne, and J. R. Woodworth, 2007 IEEE Pulsed Power Conference, Albuquerque, NM (IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, 2007), p. 979]. The large investment in each Z experiment demands low prefire probability and low jitter simultaneously. The system described here is based on a 100 kV DC-charged high-pressure spark gap, triggered with an ultraviolet laser. The system uses a single optical path for simultaneously triggering two parallel switches, allowing lower inductance and electrode erosion with a simple optical system. Performance of the system includes 6 ns output rise time into 5.6 {Omega}, 550 ps one-sigma jitter measured from the 5 V trigger to the high voltage output, and misfire probability less than 10{sup -4}. The design of the system and some key measurements will be shown in the paper. We will discuss the design goals related to high reliability and low jitter. While reliability is usually important, and is coupled with jitter, reliability is seldom given more than a qualitative analysis (if any at all). We will show how reliability of the system was calculated, and results of a jitter-reliability tradeoff study. We will describe the behavior of sulfur hexafluoride as the insulating gas in the mildly nonuniform field geometry at pressures of 300 to 500 kPa. We will show the resistance of the arc channels, and show the performance comparisons with normal two-channel operation, and single channel operation.
We demonstrate that a wide variety of current-pulse shapes can be generated using a linear-transformer-driver (LTD) module that drives an internal water-insulated transmission line. The shapes are produced by varying the timing and initial charge voltage of each of the module's cavities. The LTD-driven accelerator architecture outlined in [Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 10, 030401 (2007)] provides additional pulse-shaping flexibility by allowing the modules that drive the accelerator to be triggered at different times. The module output pulses would be combined and symmetrized by water-insulated radial-transmission-line impedance transformers [Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 11, 030401 (2008)].
An analytic model for electron flow in a system driving a fixed inductive load is described and evaluated with particle in cell simulations. The simple model allows determining the impedance profile for a magnetically insulated transmission line given the minimum gap desired, and the lumped inductance inside the transition to the minimum gap. The model allows specifying the relative electron flow along the power flow direction, including cases where the fractional electron flow decreases in the power flow direction. The electrons are able to return to the cathode because they gain energy from the temporally rising magnetic field. The simulations were done with small cell size to reduce numerical heating. An experiment to compare electron flow to the simulations was done. The measured electron flow is {approx}33% of the value from the simulations. The discrepancy is assumed to be due to a reversed electric field at the cathode because of the inductive load and falling electron drift velocity in the power flow direction. The simulations constrain the cathode electric field to zero, which gives the highest possible electron flow.
We have developed a system of differential-output monitors that diagnose current and voltage in the vacuum section of a 20-MA 3-MV pulsed-power accelerator. The system includes 62 gauges: 3 current and 6 voltage monitors that are fielded on each of the accelerator's 4 vacuum-insulator stacks, 6 current monitors on each of the accelerator's 4 outer magnetically insulated transmission lines (MITLs), and 2 current monitors on the accelerator's inner MITL. The inner-MITL monitors are located 6 cm from the axis of the load. Each of the stack and outer-MITL current monitors comprises two separate B-dot sensors, each of which consists of four 3-mm-diameter wire loops wound in series. The two sensors are separately located within adjacent cavities machined out of a single piece of copper. The high electrical conductivity of copper minimizes penetration of magnetic flux into the cavity walls, which minimizes changes in the sensitivity of the sensors on the 100-ns time scale of the accelerator's power pulse. A model of flux penetration has been developed and is used to correct (to first order) the B-dot signals for the penetration that does occur. The two sensors are designed to produce signals with opposite polarities; hence, each current monitor may be regarded as a single detector with differential outputs. Common-mode-noise rejection is achieved by combining these signals in a 50-{Omega} balun. The signal cables that connect the B-dot monitors to the balun are chosen to provide reasonable bandwidth and acceptable levels of Compton drive in the bremsstrahlung field of the accelerator. A single 50-{omega} cable transmits the output signal of each balun to a double-wall screen room, where the signals are attenuated, digitized (0.5-ns/sample), numerically compensated for cable losses, and numerically integrated. By contrast, each inner-MITL current monitor contains only a single B-dot sensor. These monitors are fielded in opposite-polarity pairs. The two signals from a pair are not combined in a balun; they are instead numerically processed for common-mode-noise rejection after digitization. All the current monitors are calibrated on a 76-cm-diameter axisymmetric radial transmission line that is driven by a 10-kA current pulse. The reference current is measured by a current-viewing resistor (CVR). The stack voltage monitors are also differential-output gauges, consisting of one 1.8-cm-diameter D-dot sensor and one null sensor. Hence, each voltage monitor is also a differential detector with two output signals, processed as described above. The voltage monitors are calibrated in situ at 1.5 MV on dedicated accelerator shots with a short-circuit load. Faraday's law of induction is used to generate the reference voltage: currents are obtained from calibrated outer-MITL B-dot monitors, and inductances from the system geometry. In this way, both current and voltage measurements are traceable to a single CVR. Dependable and consistent measurements are thus obtained with this system of calibrated diagnostics. On accelerator shots that deliver 22 MA to a low-impedance z-pinch load, the peak lineal current densities at the stack, outer-MITL, and inner-MITL monitor locations are 0.5, 1, and 58 MA/m, respectively. On such shots the peak currents measured at these three locations agree to within 1%.
In October 2005, an intensive three-year Laser Triggered Gas Switch (LTGS) development program was initiated to investigate and solve observed performance and reliability issues with the LTGS for ZR. The approach taken has been one of mission-focused research: to revisit and reassess the design, to establish a fundamental understanding of LTGS operation and failure modes, and to test evolving operational hypotheses. This effort is aimed toward deploying an initial switch for ZR in 2007, on supporting rolling upgrades to ZR as the technology can be developed, and to prepare with scientific understanding for the even higher voltage switches anticipated needed for future high-yield accelerators. The ZR LTGS was identified as a potential area of concern quite early, but since initial assessments performed on a simplified Switch Test Bed (STB) at 5 MV showed 300-shot lifetimes on multiple switch builds, this component was judged acceptable. When the Z{sub 20} engineering module was brought online in October 2003 frequent flashovers of the plastic switch envelope were observed at the increased stresses required to compensate for the programmatically increased ZR load inductance. As of October 2006, there have been 1423 Z{sub 20} shots assessing a variety of LTGS designs. Numerous incremental and fundamental switch design modifications have been investigated. As we continue to investigate the LTGS, the basic science of plastic surface tracking, laser triggering, cascade breakdown, and optics degradation remain high-priority mission-focused research topics. Significant progress has been made and, while the switch does not yet achieve design requirements, we are on the path to develop successively better switches for rolling upgrade improvements to ZR. This report summarizes the work performed in FY 2006 by the large team. A high-level summary is followed by detailed individual topical reports.
Study of the triggered plasma opening switch (TPOS) characteristics is in progress via an ion current collection diagnostic (ICCD), in addition to offline apparatus. This initial ion current collection diagnostic has been designed, fabricated, and tested on the TPOS in order to explore the opening profile of the main switch. The initial ion current collection device utilizes five collectors which are positioned perpendicularly to the main switch stage in order to collect radially traveling ions. It has been shown through analytical prowess that this specific geometry can be treated as a planar case of the Child-Langmuir law with only a 6% deviation from the cylindrical case. Additionally, magnetostatic simulations with self consistent space charge emitting surfaces of the main switch using the Trak code are under way. It is hoped that the simulations will provide evidence in support of both the analytical derivations and experimental data. Finally, an improved design of the ICCD (containing 12 collectors in the axial direction) is presently being implemented.
The Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is the world's largest and most powerful laboratory X-ray source. The Z Refurbishment Project (ZR) is presently underway to provide an improved precision, more shot capacity, and a higher current capability. The ZR upgrade has a total output current requirement of at least 26 MA for a 100-ns standard Z-pinch load. To accomplish this with minimal impact on the surrounding hardware, the 60 high-energy discharge capacitors in each of the existing 36 Marx generators must be replaced with identical size units but with twice the capacitance. Before the six-month shut down and transition from Z to ZR occurs, 2500 of these capacitors will be delivered. We chose to undertake an ambitious vendor qualification program to reduce the risk of not meeting ZR performance goals, to encourage the pulsed-power industry to revisit the design and development of high- energy discharge capacitors, and to meet the cost and delivery schedule within the ZR project plans. Five manufacturers were willing to fabricate and sell SNL samples of six capacitors each to be evaluated. The 8000-shot qualification test phase of the evaluation effort is now complete. This paper summarizes how the 0.279 x 0.356 x 0.635-m (11 x 14 x 25-in) stainless steel can, Scyllac-style insulator bushing, 2.65-{micro}F, < 30-nH, 100-kV, 35%-reversal capacitor lifetime specifications were determined, briefly describes the nominal 260-kJ test facility configuration, presents the test results of the most successful candidates, and discusses acceptance testing protocols that balance available resources against performance, cost, and schedule risk. We also summarize the results of our accelerated lifetime testing of the selected General Atomics P/N 32896 capacitor. We have completed lifetime tests with twelve capacitors at 100 kV and with fourteen capacitors at 110-kV charge voltage. The means of the fitted Weibull distributions for these two cases are about 17,000 and 10,000 shots, respectively. As a result of this effort plus the rigorous vendor testing prior to shipping, we are confident in the high reliability of these capacitors and have acquired information pertaining to their lifetime dependence on the operating voltage. One result of the analysis is that, for these capacitors, lifetime scales inversely with voltage to the 6.28 {+-} 0.91 power, over this 100 to 110-kV voltage range. Accepting the assumptions leading to this outcome allows us to predict the overall ZR system Marx generator capacitor reliability at the expected lower operating voltage of about 85 kV.
To meet or exceed the 26-MA goal for ZR, the refurbished upgrade to the Z machine at Sandia National Labs, the existing Marx generator capacitors must be replaced with identical size units but with twice the capacitance. Before the six-month shut down and transition from Z to ZR occurs in late 2005, most of the 2500 capacitors must be delivered for acceptance testing and installation. We chose to undertake an ambitious vendor qualification program to reduce the risk of not meeting ZR performance goals, to encourage the pulsed-power industry to revisit the design and development of high energy discharge capacitors, and to meet the cost and delivery schedule within the ZR project plans. Five manufacturers were willing to fabricate and sell Sandia samples of six capacitors each to be evaluated. In addition, four more samples of modified or alternate designs were submitted for testing at the vendors' expense, giving us a total of 45 capacitors to test. The 8,000-shot qualification test phase of the effort is now complete. This paper summarizes how the 0.279×0.356×0.635-m Scyllac-style 2.6-μF, <30-nH, 100-kV, 35%-reversal capacitor lifetime specifications were determined, briefly describes the nominal 260-kJ test facility configuration, presents the test results of the most successful candidates, and provides procurement strategy and acceptance testing protocols that balance available resources against performance, cost, and schedule risk.
Optimizing the design of the upgrade to the Z pulser at Sandia National Laboratories renewed interest in the ubiquitous Scyllac-cased capacitor. For the Z upgrade, the desired capacitance value in each case is different than those built before, and double that of the existing units in Z. The cost and fundamental importance of the Marx capacitors in pulsers like Z prompted the decision to build a test facility that could evaluate sample units from capacitor manufacturers. The number of interested vendors and the expected lifetime indicated about 350 thousand capacitor-shots for the capacitors in a plus-minus configuration. The project schedule demanded that the initial testing be completed in a few months. These factors, and budget limitations, pointed to the need for a system that could test multiple pairs of capacitors at once, without a full-time attendant. The system described here tests up to ten pairs of 2.6 μF capacitors charged to 100 kV in 90 seconds, then discharged at 150 kA and 35 percent reversal. Unattended operation requires sophisticated fault detection, and so much attention has been paid to this. This paper will describe the system, and the key components including the control system, the switches, and the load resistors. The paper will also show some lifetime and performance data from commonly used 200 kV spark gap switches.
This research consisted of testing surface treatment processes for stainless steel and aluminum for the purpose of suppressing electron emission over large surface areas to improve the pulsed high voltage hold-off capabilities of these metals. Improvements to hold-off would be beneficial to the operation of the vacuum-insulator grading rings and final self-magnetically insulated transmission line on the ZR-upgrade machine and other pulsed power applications such as flash radiograph and pulsed-microwave machines. The treatments tested for stainless steel include the Z-protocol (chemical polish, HVFF, and gold coating), pulsed E-beam surface treatments by IHCE, Russia, and chromium oxide coatings. Treatments for aluminum were anodized and polymer coatings. Breakdown thresholds also were measured for a range of surface finishes and gap distances. The study found that: (1.) Electrical conditioning and solvent cleaning in a filtered air environment each improve HV hold-off 30%. (2.) Anodized coatings on aluminum give a factor of two improvement in high voltage hold-off. However, anodized aluminum loses this improvement when the damage is severe. Chromium oxide coatings on stainless steel give a 40% and 20% improvement in hold-off before and after damage from many arcs. (3.) Bare aluminum gives similar hold-off for surface roughness, R{sub a}, ranging from 0.08 to 3.2 {micro}m. (4.) The various EBEST surfaces tested give high voltage hold-off a factor of two better than typical machined and similar to R{sub a} = 0.05 {micro}m polished stainless steel surfaces. (5.) For gaps > 2 mm the hold-off voltage increases as the square root of the gap for bare metal surfaces. This is inconsistent with the accepted model for metals that involves E-field induced electron emission from dielectric inclusions. Micro-particles accelerated across the gap during the voltage pulse give the observed voltage dependence. However the similarity in observed breakdown times for large and small gaps places a requirement that the particles be of molecular size. This makes accelerated micro-particle induced breakdown seem improbable also.