A terawatt pulse-power generator with a microsecond plasma-opening switch

A review of the first experiments with the GIT-4 generator is given. GIT-4 is based on the results obtained previously on Gamma (1985) and Marina (1986) generators and has operated since December 1986. GIT-4 is designed to test the concept of a terawatt pulsed-power generator based on the direct charging of an inductive storage from a Marx primary store using a plasma-opening switch (POS) at currents up to several mega-amperes. Such generators need a POS with essentially microsecond conduction times. In the experiments reviewed, output powers up to 2.5 TW in the POS region were obtained at current levels up to 1 MA.<
>