Mega Ampere Compression and Hydrodynamics

MACH is a cutting edge pulsed power facility capable of currents up to 2MA, with rise times ~400ns. Developed by Ktech and Imperial College, MACH is based on dry brick technology, directly discharging low inductance capacitors through ball gap switches to the load in the centre of the machine. No water, no oil and no noxious  gases are used in the generator, hence any maintenance can be carried out by a very small team. The compact size of the facility ~2.5m² x 0.25m thick means it is ‘semi portable’. MACH was manufactured with a Linear Transformer Driver architecture, enabling it to be stacked alongside similar generators to increase its output voltage; or added to in parallel to increase its current.

MACHs principle diagnostics include 8 channels of frequency shifted photon doppler velocimetry, 2 channels of line VISAR, and 12 frame laser backlit imaging with 5ns resolution.

Nene

Nene is our baby X-pinch driver. Originally built to perform capillary discharge X-ray laser experiments, the generator was modified in 2002 to form a ‘table top’ X-pinch  driver, and has been continually improved since. Nene is a Marx-waterline type pulsed power driver, capable of producing 50kA, 50ns rise time current pulses with voltages up to ~250kV. Extremely reliable X-pinch operation is achieved using tungsten standard x-pinches and Molybdenum hybrid x-pinches.

Big Sister

Big sister is presently on loan to First Light Fusion Ltd, where it is being used to radiograph shock physics experiments for Fusion research, and to provide probing radiation for absorption spectrometry diagnostics

Dry Pinch

Dry pinch is our next generation portable x-pinch driver. Based around the ideas behind the MACH facility, dry pinch incorporates low inductance capacitors directly discharging through the X-pinch load. Still under development, it presently capable of producing 140kA currents in 240ns and implodes 4 x 13µm tungsten wires. Dry pinch also serves as a test stand for our new pulsed power brick designs, incorporating our own low inductance switches and in built charging and triggering.