Matching of an extended high-current $Z$-discharge to a pulsed power system

Conditions for matching an extended high-current $Z$-discharge to a pulsed power system are numerically investigated. The power system consists of a pulsed voltage generator and a long transmission line. Experiments are aimed at generating a highly ionized dense plasma as an active medium for an extreme ultraviolet laser on hydrogen-like ions of nitrogen ($\lambda$ = 13.4 nm). Emphasis is on the distribution of the energy transmitted from a storage ring to a load among its components and on the reduction of the energy that remains in the electrical circuit by the end of the pump pulse and will inevitably dissipate in the discharge tube. The solution of this problem will make it possible to diminish the load on the walls of the discharge chamber and extend its service life. It is shown that energy deposition into the load is effective when the timeaveraged sum of the ohmic and dynamic components of the discharge resistance is roughly equal to the wave impedance of the transmission line. In this case, the wave reflected from the load carries away a minimal energy, which allows for optimization of the energy deposited into the load. The input and output energy balances for different matching conditions are calculated with an eye to designing an efficient short-wavelength extreme ultraviolet laser with a long service life of the discharge tube.