Low jitter laser-triggered high-voltage vacuum switch using low laser energies

Technical Report · Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1987

OSTI ID:6086790

Brannon, P J; Cowgill, D F

A laser-triggered high voltage vacuum switch with a unique composite target pellet has been developed. The target pellet is fabricated from a compressed mixture of equal weights of 8-..mu..m titanium and 300-..mu..m KCl powders. The switch triggers reliably for 532-nm laser input energies of 20 ..mu..J corresponding to a peak irradiance of 1 MW/cm/sup 2/. Jitter times of less than +- 15 ns are observed. The delay time of the switch increases as the gap voltage decreases. A delay time of less than 100 ns is observed for a gap voltage of 6000 V and a gap spacing of 0.5 mm. The trigger energies and peak irradiances reported here are smaller by an order of magnitude or more than previously reported for laser-triggered vacuum switches.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 6086790
• Report Number(s): SAND-87-1997; ON: DE88001922
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products. Original copy available until stock is exhausted
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
SWITCHES
LASERS
PELLETS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
POTASSIUM CHLORIDES
TARGETS
TITANIUM
VACUUM SYSTEMS
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
CHLORIDES
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
ELEMENTS
EQUIPMENT
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
METALS
POTASSIUM COMPOUNDS
TESTING
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
420800* - Engineering- Electronic Circuits & Devices- (-1989)