Multiple-wire array load for high-power pulsed generators

Exploding wire loads have been used for several years to generate a hot dense plasma. For a generator with a rise time of tens of nsec and an impedance of 1 Ω or less, the inductance of the wire load and the tendency of current to flow outside the wire limits the energy that can be transferred to the wire. An array of several wires has now been used to lower the inductance and improve the energy transfer.