Characterization of cable gun plasma with a charge collector array

The density, drift velocity and reproducibility of the plasma produced by a cable plasma gun array have been measured with a charge collector array. The plasma is used to prefill a coaxial plasma-opening switch with a conducting time approaching 0.4 mus. The reproducibility of the plasma source in subsequent shots is better than 5%. Near the gun nozzle and the opposite electrode, the plasma density amounts to 10(15)cm(-3), which is 2 times to 3 times that in the gap between the two coaxial electrodes. A plasma drift velocity of about 2.4 cm/mus is observed from the time of flight of the charged particles. Both plasma density and drift velocity increase almost linearly with the rise in charge voltage.