Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Publication Date

Spring 5-8-2023

Abstract

Foundational concepts necessary for power flow analysis of a self-magnetically insulated transmission line (MITL) are introduced in theoretical form and several developments to the theory are described. These include cold-cathode electron emission physics, self-magnetic insulation physics, self-limited MITL current, and relativistic secondary ion production from anode surfaces. Modeling these physics is performed using EMPIRE, an electromagnetic particle-in-cell code.

Self-limited MITL current theory described numerically by Pointon is developed here in analytic form and is then used to drive simulations to compare to experiments that were performed in EMPIRE. Carefully calibrated current sensors from HERMES-III experiments show good agreement with EMPIRE anode current results and exhibit pulse sharpening over the 15 m MITL. Beam pinching in a planar diode terminating a coaxial MITL has been shown to be heavily dependent on the diode impedance. It is shown here that bremsstrahlung dose spectra can be tuned with an indented anode geometry. The diode beam pinching is shown here to be decoupled from the diode impedance using this geometry. This research lays the groundwork for an optimized bremsstrahlung diode design for a given application.

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

Degree Name

Electrical Engineering

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Committee Member (Chair)

Edl Schamiloglu

Second Committee Member

Keith Cartwright

Third Committee Member

Jane Lehr

Fourth Committee Member

Ylva Pihlstrom

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