High energy density pulsed power capacitors

Pulsed power in mobile systems requires high energy density capacitors as energy storage and power compression devices. Applications range from medical defibrillators to naval artillery, with a wide envelope of operating conditions requiring several technology approaches. The ongoing, multifaceted development effort on high energy density pulsed power capacitors at General Atomics Energy Products has yielded capacitors with significantly higher energy densities (> 5 J/cc) than were available a few years ago. Substantially higher energy densities are also being achieved in capacitors designed for microsecond discharge applications. This paper describes this progress and the state of the art in pulsed power capacitors.