Lifetime of the HCEI spark gap switch for linear transformer drivers

Spark gap switches, storage capacitors, and ferromagnetic cores are the most important components of the Linear Transformer Driver (LTD) cavities. Depending on their output voltage and current, LTD-based accelerators may need several thousands switches, hence the switch lifetime is of crucial importance. Unlike the capacitors and the cores, the LTD switches are still in the developmental stage and are designed and built mainly by various laboratories; thus the lifetime of different switches may vary. In this paper we present recent results of the first full-scale experiments that were aimed to evaluate the life-time of the LTD switches developed by HCEI.