Uncontrollable multichannel commutator in the output cascade of the SNOP-3 generator

A multichannel uncontrollable submersible commutator is described. The commutator is tested in the output cascade of the SNOP-3 generator in the discharge of a signal-forming line with a wave resistance of 0.65 Ω to a transmission line with the same wave resistance and an inductive load of 30 nH. The inductance and ohmic resistance of the commutator are determined (15–20 nH and 0.2 Ω, respectively). With the inductive load of 30 nH, a rate of current increase of 3·10¹³ A/sec is obtained. A special commutator design with a screened grounded plane is tested; this design permits reduction in the prepulse voltage at the load to 0.25% of the voltage at the signal-forming line. Institute of High-Power Electronics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 12, pp. 67–72, December, 1995.