CER SEMINAR

A Vacuum Power Feed Design for a 15-TW Accelerator

Dr. Rick B. Spielman Idaho State University
January 25, 2018, 11:00am - 12:00pm, SERF Room 232

ABSTRACT:

The design of vacuum power feeds for high-power accelerators requires the use of magnetically insulated transmission lines (MITLs) for efficient power coupling. In MITLs, the self magnetic field is strong enough to trap emitted electrons and prevent catastrophic electron losses. This requires a low enough impedance to have sufficient current. Analytic design tools have been developed over the last 25 years that are now being complemented by multi-dimensional E&M PIC calculations. We will describe the evolution of vacuum feed design starting with non-emissive vacuum power feeds and ending up with MITLs. We provide a heuristic, analytic approach to MITL design for high-power accelerators. The design tools have been benchmarked against 2-D E&M PIC codes. We will use the Screamer circuit code to model a high-power accelerator and show how Screamer provides the necessary information to design a high-power MITL.

 

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BIO:

Dr. Rick B. Spielman, obtained his a Ph.D. in Plasma Physics from the University of California, Davis in 1978. He was a Regent’s Fellow of the University of California. He spent 21 years at Sandia National Laboratories starting as a Member of the technical Staff and finishing in 2001 as a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff and Manager of the Pulsed Power Department. He was the project leader and chief scientist for the Z project that modified PBFA II into “Z,” the world’s largest pulsed-power driver for fast Z-pinch implosions. This project was successfully completed at SNL in 1996. Z is a 60-TW accelerator that utilizes the latest pulsed power understanding and electrical design techniques to deliver up to 20 MA with a 100-ns rise time into low-inductance loads for mega-joule Z-pinch implosions. After leaving Sandia, Dr. Spielman founded and lead a small private technology company in the US that developed advanced pulsed-power technologies. Dr. Spielman served on the Boards of Directors for several high-technology start-ups. From 2005 until early 2012 Dr. Spielman has served as Ktech Corporation’s Vice President of Pulsed Power from 2005 to 2012. Since 2012 Dr. Spielman has been a consultant for several Laboratories and Companies. He is presently the Associate Chair of Physics, the Director the Idaho Accelerator Center and a Professor of Physics at Idaho State University. Dr. Spielman is an acknowledged world expert in the field of high-voltage pulsed power. He holds 6 patents, has written a textbook on Z-Pinch Physics, has authored or co-authored more than one hundred technical papers.