Spatial and temporal evolution of high energy density plasmas on the GIT-4 generator

A series of collaborative experiments on complex plasma loads have been carried out on the large inductive energy storage (IES) generator, GIT-4, over the last three years. The aim of the experiments is to explore the different configurations for the formation of ultra-high energy density plasmas in high voltage pulsed power systems by direct electromagnetic energy coupling. In this paper, the authors present some of the underlying philosophy on these experiments and the results obtained. Particular emphasis is placed on the pulsed power aspects and the effect of source-load coupling.