Title :
High current glow discharge switch with remarkable cathode properties
Author :
Kirkman, G. ; Hartmann, W. ; Hsu, T.Y. ; Liou, R.L. ; Gundersen, M.A.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Abstract :
The authors report on the development of a novel high-power switch with an extremely high (>10 kA/cm/sup 2/ over an area approximately=1 cm/sup 2/) cathode emission current density. The high cathode emission allows the switch to conduct peak currents in excess of 10-20 kA in a diffuse glow discharge without severely damaging the electrodes. The switch is triggered by an unfocused ultraviolet light pulse from a flashlamp or laser incident on the back of the cathode and is referred to as back-lighted thyratron (BLT). Typical operating parameters are >25 kV holdoff voltage, >10 kA peak current, approximately 3*10/sup 11/ A/s dI/dt, and delay and triggering jitter of the order of 100 ns and 1 ns, respectively. The cathode emission is extremely high and results from self-heating caused by a transient ion beam during the switch-closure phase.<>
Keywords :
glow discharges; switches; thyratrons; 10 to 20 kA; 100 ns; 25 kV; BLT; UV triggered thyratron; back-lighted thyratron; cathode emission current density; cathode properties; delay; diffuse glow discharge; flashlamp; high cathode emission; high current glow discharge switch; high-power switch; holdoff voltage; laser; operating parameters; peak current; peak currents; self-heating; switch-closure phase; transient ion beam; triggering jitter; unfocused ultraviolet light pulse; Cathodes; Current density; Delay; Electrodes; Glow discharges; Jitter; Optical pulses; Switches; Thyratrons; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
Electron Devices Meeting, 1988. IEDM '88. Technical Digest., International
Conference_Location :
San Francisco, CA, USA
DOI :
10.1109/IEDM.1988.32872
