Investigation of microsecond plasma opening switch

Summary form only given. Studies on a microsecond plasma opening switch (POS) installed at a double generator and operating on the level of 200 kA with a 1-μs stored current are discussed. It was shown that during the conduction phase, the translation of the current channel (CC) in the plasma takes place near the anode with anomalously high velocity, and due to it the current lines acquire considerable slant in the axial direction. Possible mechanisms of instabilities responsible for anomalous current diffusion are discussed. The total ion current in the POS makes up approximately 25% of the total current and it reaches the maximum already in the conduction phase, slowly decreasing during switching. The dramatic increase of the total ion current takes place during the last 50 ns before switching and correlates with the corresponding increase of the axial velocity of the plasma plume. The existence of the axially launched intense electron beam from the POS results in the collectively accelerated ion beam and kilojoule energy losses.