A magnetically switched trigger source for fxr

This paper describes the design and performance of a three-stage magnetic pulse compressor used to trigger the Flash X-Ray Accelerator at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Each of two compressors generates a pulse onto a bundle of thirteen parallel cables. The cables carry the pulse to a network of spark gaps that initiates the accelerator charge and discharge sequence. The performance data illustrate the compression of a 7.7-/spl mu/s, dual-resonant waveform into a 232-ns (FWHM) unipolar pulse with an 80-ns risetime and a maximum dV/dt of 1.98 kV/ns. Additional data are also presented to show network jitter, efficiency, and sensitivity to small changes in charge voltage and reset current.