Modular and scalable solid state switching for use in superposition voltage waveform tailoring of impedance matched pulsed power plasmas and magnetic fields.

Modular and scalable solid state switches were developed for use in controlling the superposition of voltage waveforms. Tailoring the switch to impedance match the load enables a reliable and full interaction between energy stored on the capacitor and the plasma or magnetic field discharge. In this study, the impedance matching between the coaxial plasma gun discharge characteristics and the capacitance of the energy storage device allows for a full plasma discharge with limited residual plasma characteristics. A 360uF capacitor CPG discharge is compared with a 55uF capacitor CPG discharge to show the energy distribution vs time using a high speed camera and rogowski coil diagnostics. This comparison of impedance matching between two systems using a solid state switch allows for a full system diagnostics comparison synchronization between an energy source, switching device, and plasma generation control. The solid state switch allows for data synchronization and the generated "digital plasma" to be time stamped with <1us precision for repeatable tests for the two impedance matched experiments. This study shows the importance of impedance matching of CPG geometries related to energy storage and switched pulsed power systems for full energy release for the ideal snowplow mode discharges for MHD CPG plasmas.