Title :
Operation of a plasma opening switch utilizing heated electrodes
Author :
Gover, J.R. ; Kortbawi, D. ; Thompson, James R. ; Davis, Stephen ; Banister, J. ; Pereira, N. ; Sallay, J. ; Rix, W.
Author_Institution :
Maxwell Phys. Int., San Diego, CA, USA
Abstract :
Summary form only given. It has long been known that surface conditions of electrodes in, and downstream of, a high-power plasma opening switch (POS), can affect switch operation, power flow, and ultimately, energy delivered to a bremsstrahlung diode. As a partial solution to this problem, chemical cleaning, glow-discharge cleaning, and the use of removable liners have been attempted and shown to improve overall operation. Recently, significant changes in operation have been observed when the electrodes are heated to 500-600/spl deg/C during operation of the POS. These changes, which include improved energy coupling to a load, better reproducibility, and inhibited transport of launched-electron flow off the cathode, will be discussed. In addition, a new POS model was developed to facilitate analysis of the data. This model represents the switch in such a way as to allow simulation of plasma motion during the conduction phase, and launching of electron flow off the surface of the cathode during the opening phase. The relevant details of this model, along with the analysis techniques, will also be presented.
Keywords :
bremsstrahlung; electrodes; plasma switches; plasma transport processes; analysis techniques; bremsstrahlung diode; chemical cleaning; conduction phase; electrode heating; electron flow; energy coupling; glow-discharge cleaning; heated electrodes; high-power plasma opening switch; inhibited transport; launched electron flow; load; plasma motion simulation; power flow; removable liners; surface conditions; switch operation; Cathodes; Chemicals; Cleaning; Diodes; Electrodes; Load flow; Plasma chemistry; Plasma simulation; Reproducibility of results; Switches;
Conference_Titel :
Plasma Science, 2000. ICOPS 2000. IEEE Conference Record - Abstracts. The 27th IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
New Orleans, LA, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-5982-8
DOI :
10.1109/PLASMA.2000.854769