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Ronald Gilgenbach

Ronald Gilgenbach

Ronald Gilgenbach
Chihiro Kikuchi Collegiate Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences and Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, College of Engineering
Engineering » Nuclear Eng. and Radiological Sciences

The Plasma, Pulsed Power and Microwave Laboratory is the center of e-beam-plasma experimental research. This laboratory utilizes a unique combination of intense electron beam accelerators and high power lasers. The Michigan Electron Long Beam Accelerator is a state-of-the-art machine which generates high current, relativistic (MV) electron beams with ultralong (microsecond) pulselengths. This accelerator, the first of its kind in the U.S., utilizes a unique compensation circuit which regulates the MELBA Marx generator voltage for microwave generation and other experiments. Advanced electron beam microwave generation experiments are performed by injecting the MELBA electron beam into various beam-cavity structures. Laser generated plasmas are ionized and heated by a high power rare gas-halogen (KrF) excimer laser. A channelspark electron beam system is being investigated for material ablation and processing. A number of other lasers are used for cathode heating and plasma diagnostics, including a CW YAG laser and a XeC1 excimer-pumped dye laser. Extensive diagnostic instrumentation exists in this laboratory, e.g., laser resonant interferometry, two spectographs with intensified CCD detectors, two 2-giga-sample per second four channel digital signal analyzers, and numerous fast oscilloscopes. These systems permit data acquisition of fast diagnostic signals.