Tailoring current pulses to obtain ramp and quasi-square waveforms on a 4-MA linear-transformer-driver facility

A 4-MA fast linear-transformer-driver facility with six modules in parallel has been built at the Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology. To meet different experimental requirements, a series of current pulse tailoring experiments were performed by adjusting the charging voltage and trigger time of the six modules. Through single-module discharge experiments, the transmission characteristics of a single electrical pulse in the stack-MITL system and its impact on other pulse sources were studied in advance. By optimizing the discharge sequence of the six modules in time and space, the tailoring experiments did not cause damage to the facility. The results show that the 4-MA facility can generate a ramp current pulse with a rise time of 100-375 ns and a peak current of 1.45-4 MA. In addition, a quasi-square pulse with a 1.25-MA peak current and a 350-ns pulse length (80%) was achieved.