Compact Electroexplosive Fuses for Explosively Driven Pulsed Power

Compact electroexplosive fuses (EEFs) as part of an explosively driven system are of interest for the one-time single-shot generation of high-power pulses. For instance, the transition from a very large driving current produced by an explosively driven flux compression generator (FCG), i.e., low impedance, to a large voltage spike delivered to the load, i.e., high impedance, can be done using an inductive storage system and an EEF. Typically, the EEF can be as large as, if not larger than, the current driver attached to it, thus making it one of the largest components in the system. Reduction in the size of the fuse will allow for size reductions of the entire high-power microwave (HPM) system. The goal of optimizing an EEF as an opening switch is to produce the greatest voltage multiplication possible to drive a load under physical size constraints. To optimize the fuse, several parameters are taken into account, including, but not limited to, fuse material, fuse length, fuse shape, and quenching medium. Individual optimization of these parameters will lead to complete optimization of an EEF, therefore resulting in a compact fuse capable of consistently producing maximum voltage multiplication for HPM systems.