Comparison of Ultra-Compact Seed Sources for MFCG's

Abstract

The increasing need for small, expendable, pulsed power payloads is driving the development of ultra- compact pulsed power systems and components. The primary compact pulsed power device considered is the magnetic flux compression generator, due to the large stored energy density in high explosives. To maximize the total system volume available for the MFCG, an ultra- compact seed current source is required. HEM Technologies has constructed and evaluated seed current sources utilizing two different technologies: a battery- powered capacitive discharge and an explosively driven ferro-electric. These devices were constructed to fit into a volume less than 200 cubic centimeters. Details of the design tradeoffs and experimental results are presented. Comparisons between the two technologies, potential improvements and limitations to each are discussed.