Modeling magnetically insulated devices using flow impedance

Abstract

In modern pulsed power systems the electric field stresses at metal surfaces in vacuum transmission lines are so high that negative surfaces are space-charge-limited electron emitters. These electrons do not cause unacceptable losses because magnetic fields due to system currents result in net motion parallel to the electrodes. It has been known for several years that a parameter known as flow impedance is useful for describing these flows. Flow impedance is a measure of the separation between the anode and the mean position of the electron cloud, and it will be shown in this paper that in many situations flow impedance depends upon the geometry of the transmission line upstream of the point of interest. It can be remarkably independent of other considerations such as line currents and voltage. For this reason flow impedance is a valuable design parameter. Models of impedance transitions and voltage adders using flow impedance will be developed. Results of these models will be compared to two-dimensional, time-dependent, particle-in-cell simulations.