Neon gas puff implosions on a high-current microsecond generator with and without a plasma opening switch

The effect of neon gas implosions on high-current microsecond generators with or without a plasma opening switch was investigated. The results showed that generators which incorporated plasma opening switches were able to produce faster current pulses. The higher current rise rate allowed neon gas puffs to produce up to 13.5 kJ of kilovolt K-shell radiation. The increase in radiation was attributed to increased kinetic energy per ion at higher current levels.