skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Time- and space-resolved light emission and spectroscopic research of the flashover plasma

Journal Article · · Journal of Applied Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4913213· OSTI ID:22413126
;  [1];  [2]
  1. Physics Department, Technion, Haifa 32000 (Israel)
  2. Department of Applied Physics, Rafael Laboratories, Box 2250, Haifa 31021 (Israel)

The results of an experimental study of the evolution of surface flashover across the surface of an insulator in vacuum subject to a high-voltage pulse and the parameters of the flashover plasma are reported. For the system studied, flashover is always initiated at the cathode triple junctions. Using time-resolved framing photography of the plasma light emission the velocity of the light emission propagation along the surface of the insulator was found to be ∼2.5·10{sup 8} cm/s. Spectroscopic measurements show that the flashover is characterized by a plasma density of 2–4 × 10{sup 14} cm{sup −3} and neutral and electron temperatures of 2–4 eV and 1–3 eV, respectively, corresponding to a plasma conductivity of ∼0.2 Ω{sup −1} cm{sup −1} and a discharge current density of up to ∼10 kA/cm{sup 2}.

OSTI ID:
22413126
Journal Information:
Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 117, Issue 7; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English