A third-generation coaxial plasma gun (STG1) for PJMIF application

Coaxial plasma gun has been researched and developed for more than 70 years for a variety of applications, notably as a plasma thruster for space propulsion, creating a large and extensive physics and engineering knowledge base. In recent years, intensive development has been undertaken to support the development of plasma-jet-driven magneto-inertial fusion (PJMIF). Under the U.S. ARPA-E sponsored ALPHA program, it undergoes two generations of development from Alpha2gun of HyperV Technologies Corp to HJ1 of HyperJet Fusion Corporation [1]. At ShanghaiTech CUE, we are undertaking the development of the next generation of the coaxial plasma gun, STG1 (standing for ShanghaiTech Gun 1). The performance metrics for the three generations of the coaxial plasma gun for PJMIF is shown in Table 1. For STG1 the values are the performance goals. Details of the design of the STG1 plasma gun will be presented.