Investigations on electric field and switching voltage in planar metal foil switches

Planar metal foil switches are of considerable importance in certain applications. The present investigations deal with breakdown characteristics of the metal foil spark gap switch under different physical dimensions. Electric field distribution within the spark gap is estimated using commercial software. We have devised a strategy to determine breakdown voltage in spark-gap assembly using electric field simulations. Further, the effect of various parameters like radius of curvature, distance between main electrodes, distance between trigger and ground electrode and trigger voltage on breakdown voltage is investigated. A multiple linear regression model evolved out of the study is believed to be useful for design and development of the switches. Several interesting results are presented.