Portable pulsed magnetic field generator for magnetized laser plasma experiments in low vacuum environments

A portable pulsed magnetic field generator for magnetized laser plasma experiments in low vacuum environments is presented. It is based on a classical high-voltage discharge pulsed power system. A 95 kA peak current was delivered at a 65 kV discharge voltage, which generated a quasiuniform magnetic field of 12T in a Φ8 mm × 8 mm volume. A compact, sealed design was developed to avoid short-circuit breakdowns caused by an ambient low-pressure gas medium. Design improvements were made to the vacuum feedthrough, the transmission line, and the magnetic coil. The system worked well in a low vacuum environment for a laser plasma experiment using a gas target. But at intermediate ambient gas pressure, the ambient gas was ionized around the surface of the coil at first and then the ionized gas diffused inward and outward slowly, which affected the laser plasma image in the coil. Experiments and simulations indicated that the ambient gas was ionized by the induced electric field. We developed analytical models of the induced breakdown of the ambient gas to guide the experimental design of a gas target. The analysis can also be used in the experimental design of a solid target in an intense pulsed magnetic field of hundreds of tesla that the induced breakdown along solid's surface dominates the process.