Particle-in-cell simulations of species separation in the plasma opening switch

Summary form only given. The plasma opening switch (POS) is a pulsed-power switching technology that has been developed for inductive-energy-storage applications.[1] During the conduction phase of the POS, the discharge current initially flows in a plasma that is injected between the anode and cathode prior to the arrival of the main pulse. Lorentz forces act on the current-carrying plasma to distort the plasma distribution eventually leading to a disruption of the current channel on a fast timescale, producing a rapid transfer of magnetic energy to the load. The fast opening of the POS is crucial to the overall operation of the switch because it allows for a sharpening of the pulse rise-time and inductive voltage multiplication.