Reply To: Boron availability

[asymmetric_implosion]

A company called Science Research Labs (SRL) built a solid state DPF back in 1992 and upgraded it for years to reach 230 kA. The pulse power alone cost $1M. The operating voltage was 8 kV at most. It used saturatable magnetics. The problem is using solid state in series. SRL mastered the technology at the 230 kA level. A 10X scale up would be daunting at best. A 1 MA PF typically operates at 40 kV or more so that’s many switches in series and parallel. For a 6 kV switch unit, you would want to have 8 switches in series. With a 100 A switch you need 20,000 switches groups. A 2 MA PF with no room for upgrades in current requires 160,000 switches. Solid state if built correctly can last for 10^10 shots.

Spark gaps and railgaps can achieve both the rise time, operating voltage and current carrying capability to drive most pulse power devices. Rail gaps can operate up to 20 Hz at ~100 kV and 0.75 MA per switch if done properly. Switch life time is a problem for spark gaps and railgaps with ~10^7 shots at most.