Prototype 4-stage 60-GW impedance-matched Marx generator: design, simulations, and performance

We have designed, assembled, and tested a prototype 4-stage 60-GW coaxial impedance-matched Marx generator (IMG) [1-3]. Each stage is powered by two LCR circuits, which are referred to as “bricks.” Each brick comprises two 100-kV 160-nF capacitors connected in series with a single 200-kV field-distortion gas switch. The IMG performs as predicted theoretically: simulated and measured load-power time histories agree to within experimental uncertainties. A system of IMGs is an attractive candidate prime-power source for next-generation pulsed-power accelerators. We have designed an IMG-powered accelerator that could deliver as much as 90 MA to a physics load. Such a machine would achieve thermonuclear-fusion yields as high as 1 – 10 GJ, and revolutionize high-energy-density-physics experiments in support of the national-security mission.

[1] W. A. Stygar, K. R. LeChien, M. G. Mazarakis et al., Impedance-matched Marx generators, Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams 20, 040402 (2017).

[2] K. R. LeChien, W. A. Stygar, M. G. Anderson et al., Sirius I: prototype of a prime-power source for future 1 - 10 GJ fusion-yield experiments, LLNL Report LLNL-TR-846570 (2023).

[3] M. G. Anderson, K. R. LeChien, W. A. Stygar et al., Sirius I Prototype: A Prime-Power Source for Future 1 – 10 GJ Fusion-Yield Experiments, 2023 IEEE Pulsed Power Conference (2023).