Plasma erosion opening switch operation in the 50 ns – 1µs conduction time range

Results of PEOS experiments are examined where the conduction time varies from 50 ns to 1 μs. Conduction current scaling is proportional to plasma density in the 50 ns conduction time range, based on interferometry. Far higher density is required to conduct for 1 μ s, and the scaling is less than linear in this regime. The difference between the two cases may be explained by different physical mechanisms that determine the conduction limit: in the 50 ns range, conduction ends when an emission limit is reached; in the 1 μ s range, plasma distortion and displacement by hydrodynamic forces is proposed to limit conduction. These “emission-limited” and “hydro-limited” conduction regimes can be described by a simple plot applicable to all PEOS experiments.