Modeling 6 MV gas switches for the ZR accelerator

Abstract

The "rimfire", or "cascade" gas switch Bloomquist, DD. et. al.,(1985), developed at Sandia National Laboratories, presently operates both in Hermes III (in oil with peak voltage of 2.5 MV) and in Z (in water at 4.8 MV). In the proposed ZR accelerator Struve, KW. et. al., (2001), pulse-compression section the switch needs to reliably function (less than 0.2 % probability of pre-fire, and /spl sim/2.5 ns jitter) at up to 5.5 MV, above any previous operation. We are studying appropriate design enhancements theoretically and in the laboratory Corley, JP. et. al., on Sandia's Advanced Pulsed Power Research Module (APPRM, 1 MA, 800-ns pulse).