https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e20020059
Application of a ferroelectric plasma cathode as a high-current switch
Physics Department, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel
Corresponding author: a fnkrasik@physics.technion.ac.il
Received:
5
November
2001
Published online: 15 April 2002
In this paper the parameters of two types of high-current switches based on
ferroelectric BaTiO3 ignition are presented. Both types of switches showed a reliable
and controllable operation with a repetition rate of several Hz. The first type is a
vacuum two-electrode switch ignited by the plasma which is generated by a BaTiO3
cathode. This type of switch was tested in the voltage range of kV and
switched current amplitude of
kA with either negative or positive polarity of
the high-voltage electrode. The second type is a BaTiO3 surface flashover strip-like
switch ignited by a driving pulse which has an amplitude of several kV. It was shown
that the application of the driving pulse (>10 kV) leads to the appearance of many
non-complete surface discharges which transform further to a multi-channel
discharge. This type of switch was tested in the voltage range of
kV and
current amplitude of
kA. The design of the switches, their lifetime, the time
jitter and the parameters of the switched current for different discharge conditions are
presented.
PACS: 52.75.Kq – Plasma switches (e.g., spark gaps) / 52.50.Dg – Plasma sources / 77.80.Fm – Switching phenomena
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 2002