| Pulsed power technology is one of the tools that is used by scientists and engineers nowadays to produce gas plasmas. The transient ultra high power is able to provide a huge pulse of energy which is sometimes greater than the ionization energy of the gas, and therefore separates the ions and electrons to form the plasma.;Sometimes, the pulsed power components themselves are plasma devices. For example, the gas type switches can "turn on" the circuit by creating the plasma channel between the switch electrodes. Mini Back Lighted Thyratron, or as we call it, mini-BLT, is one of these gas type plasma switches. The development of the reduced size and weight "mini-BLT" is presented in this dissertation. Based on the operation characteristics testing of the mini-BLT, suggestions of optimizing the design of the switch are proposed. All the factors such as the geometry of the hollow electrodes and switch housing, the gas condition, the optical triggering source, etc. are necessary to consider when we design and operate the mini-BLT.;By reducing the diameter of the cylindrical gas path between the electrodes in the BLT, a novel high density plasma source is developed, producing the plasma in the "squeezed" capillary. The pulsed power generator, of course, is inevitably used to provide the ionization energy for hydrogen gas sealed in the capillary. Plasma diagnostics are necessarily analyzed and presented in detail to properly complete and understand the capillary plasma. This high density plasma source (1019 cm-3) has the potential applications in the plasma wakefield accelerator. The resonant oscillation behavior of the particles in plasmas allows for dynamically generated accelerating electric fields that have orders of magnitude larger than those available in the conventional RF accelerators.;Finally, the solid state switches are introduced as a comparison to the gas type switch. Pulsed power circuit topologies such as the Marx Bank, magnetic pulse compression and diode opening are used to accomplish the pulse generator design. Their applications for the transient plasma car engine combustion and bio-medical skin cancer cell treatments are also introduced. |
