Coreless Fast Pulsed-Power Drivers

Linear transformer drivers can generate mega-amperes in hundreds of nanoseconds, allowing to produce matter under extreme conditions and study it in a laboratory setting. Drivers using this technology are more compact than Marx-banks drivers but have very similar characteristics. The key component is the magnetic core that allows to charge the system in parallel, during the dc phase when the core inductance is an ignorable part of the circuit, and to discharge it in series, during the pulsed phase when the core provides inductive isolation. However, the magnetic core increases the weight, the cost of the system, and the footprint of the device. In this article, we show how the magnetic core can be replaced by an insulator break, providing capacitive isolation instead. This approach reduces both weight and footprint of the system while minimizing current losses compared with a system with cores or no isolation whatsoever.

Automated summary

Linear transformer drivers can generate mega-amperes quickly using magnetic cores, providing fast charging and discharging capabilities at the cost of increased weight and footprint. This article introduces an alternative approach using insulating breaks instead of magnetic cores to achieve capacitive isolation, reducing weight and footprint while minimizing current losses.