External applied magnetic field influence on plasma opening switch performance

The results of experiments on the extrinsic magnetic field influence on high-impedance plasma opening switch (POS) operation are reported. It has been demonstrated that POS voltage could be increased by the factor of 1.5 using an extrinsic magnetic field at erosion regime. The requirements for the magnetic field value and POS parameters to achieve maximum POS voltage have been determined. The experimentally tested dependency of the POS switching voltage as a function of the Marx one is presented.