Analysis of a distributed pulse power system using a circuit analysis code

A sophisticated computer code (SCEPTRE), used to analyze electronic circuits, was used to evaluate the performance of a large flash X-ray machine. This device was considered to be a transmission line whose impedance varied with position. This distributed system was modeled by lumped parameter sections with time constants of 1 ns. The model was used to interpret voltage, current, and radiation measurements in terms of diode performance. The effects of tube impedance, diode model, switch behavior, and potential geometric modifications were determined. The principal conclusions were that, since radiation output depends strongly on voltage, diode impedance was much more important than the other parameters, and the charge voltage must be accurately known.