Title :
Measurement of Electrode Erosion during High-Voltage Vacuum Breakdown
Author :
Fagen, William F. ; Schneider, Richard T. ; Lohnert, Gunter H.
Abstract :
This paper is concerned with the measurement of the mass of electrode material released by the electrodes during a high-vacuum breakdown. The techniques used in the experiment described in this paper for quantitative measurement of material released from the electrodes are neutron activation analysis and gamma-ray spectrometry. The method permits determination of the small masses released during the discharge. The threshold energy density required for material release is 15 J/mm2. An empirical equation is given for the material erosion for copper and a curve is given that relates mass erosion versus stored energy for copper electrodes. The experiment indicates that the mechanism responsible for current transport between the electrodes in a vacuum breakdown is a highly ionized plasma formed from the released electrode material.
Keywords :
Activation analysis; Copper; Electric breakdown; Electrodes; Equations; Neutrons; Plasma materials processing; Plasma transport processes; Spectroscopy; Vacuum breakdown;
Journal_Title :
Instrumentation and Measurement, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TIM.1970.4313858