Subnanosecond processes in the stage of breakdown formation in gas at a high pressure
- Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of High-Current Electronics, Siberian Branch (Russian Federation)
- Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Electrophysics, Ural Division (Russian Federation)
Results are presented from experimental studies of the prebreakdown stage of a discharge in nitrogen at pressures of a few tens of atmospheres, gap voltages higher than 140 kV, and a voltage rise time of about 1 ns. Breakdown occurs at the front of the voltage pulse; i.e., the time of breakdown formation is shorter than the front duration. It is shown that, in gaps with a nonuniform electric field, the breakdown formation time is mainly determined by the time of avalanche development to the critical number of charge carriers. The subsequent stages of breakdown (the development of the ionization wave and the buildup of the conductivity in the weakly conducting channel bridging the gap) turn out to be shorter than this time or comparable to it.
- OSTI ID:
- 21399935
- Journal Information:
- Plasma Physics Reports, Journal Name: Plasma Physics Reports Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 34; ISSN PPHREM; ISSN 1063-780X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Study of the Formation Time of a Self-Sustained Subnanosecond Discharge at High and Ultrahigh Gas Pressures
Peculiarities of formation and development of initial stages of an impulse breakdown in argon