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The effect of intermediate electrode on pseudo-spark switch performance with high repetition rate

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Abstract

The present research focuses on the characteristics of a two-stage pseudo-spark switch (PSS). In this project, the pseudo-spark chamber contains three identical electrodes constructed from a stainless-steel material isolated by a glazed ceramic material used as an insulator, with 0.07 m in diameter and 0.003 m in thickness. A pseudo-spark switch of ~ 30 kV anode voltages, 24 kA with 5 ns current rise time and a repetition rate of 160 kHz has been constructed and used effectively. A trigger circuit is designed, constructed and successfully used in a multi-shot mode with high repetition rate; this operation produces a 2.1-kV, 2-μs trigger pulse in width, which is sufficient to provoke and breakdown the argon gas within the cathode. Such a switch has jitter time between pulses less than 8 ns and 8 × 1011A/s rise time rate at a working argon gas pressure 0.3 mbar. The intermediate electrode gives us a high-power switch, which has many applications in medical techniques and in discharge heated copper vapor laser applications. The PSS system lifetime is reliant on the electrodes material type and on insulator material used in the main gap of the PSS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Al Karkh University of Science, Baghdad, Iraq

    B. H. Hamad

  2. College of Science, Physics Department, Al-Nahrain University, P. O. Box 64055, Jadiriya, Baghdad, Iraq

    A. K. Ahmad

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  1. B. H. Hamad
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Correspondence to A. K. Ahmad.

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Hamad, B.H., Ahmad, A.K. The effect of intermediate electrode on pseudo-spark switch performance with high repetition rate. Electr Eng 104, 697–703 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00202-021-01319-0

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