Pulsed Power Development at Sandia and the University of Michigan

We report on the status of several projects aimed at upgrading the pulsed power capabilities of Sandia National Labs (SNL) and the University of Michigan (UM). These projects include: (1) triggered gas switch testing, conditioning, and monitoring; (2) simulating positive streamer behavior in small oil gaps; and (3) protection mechanisms for brick hardware from pulse reflections. Our efforts will be used to further develop SNL's pulsed power accelerator for material science applications, Thor, and UM's LTD facilities, MAIZE and BLUE.