The specifications of the APELC Marx Generator system are well beyond our conventional Marx generator capabilities. Typical APELC systems employ ceramic doorknob-styled capacitors. Ceramic doorknob capacitor-based designs result in a 200 J/pulse generator. The APELC Marx Generator present mica film-based design results in a much higher energy density of approximately 1.8 kJ per pulse.

The novel compact geometry of the APELC Marx Generator allows off the shelf components to be used in production which substantially lowers the production costs. Additionally, the APELC design requires only pressurized dry air for operation and an AC outlet for extended duration operations. The minimal user facility requirements minimize the operating cost of the system (e.g. lack of an oil circulation system) and allow for operation on a variety of platforms.

The APELC Marx system has a diameter of 50.8 cm (20 inches). Three 100 nF capacitors (20 kV charge voltage) are used in parallel to achieve the desired per stage energy density. By paralleling capacitive stages (2 per linear stage), the overall length is compressed by a factor of two compared to Marx systems of comparable energy.