Electrode Erosion Characteristics of Repetitive Long-Life Gas Spark Switch Under Airtight Conditions

With the rapid developments in pulse power technology, the gas spark switch has broadened its application in both industrial fields and research fields, such as the extraction of unconventional gas resources and underwater electrical wire explosion. Thus, the repetitive switch needs high current capability, small breakdown voltage variance, and long lifetime in an airtight cavity. The performances of the switch directly influence the output characteristics of the system, but electrode erosion is inevitable, which may decrease the self-breakdown voltage and the lifetime. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the electrode erosion characteristics under adverse conditions. The cathode showed a worse erosion surface. Compared with the central zone of the electrodes, the outer zone showed a worse surface roughness for both the cathode and the anode.