Plasma erosion switch

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1976

OSTI ID:7331707

Mendel, Jr, C W; Goldstein, S A; Miller, P A

The plasma erosion switch is a device capable of initially carrying high currents, and then of opening in nanoseconds to stand off high voltages. It depends upon the erosion of a plasma which initially fills the switch. The sheath between the plasma and the cathode behaves as a diode with a rapidly increasing A-K gap. Preliminary tests of the switch on the Proto I accelerator at Sandia will be described. In these tests, the switch consisted of a cylinder of highly ionized plasma four inches in diameter and one-inch thick surrounding a one-inch cathode. The switch shorted out prepulse voltages and allowed energy to be stored in the diode inductance outside the switch until the accelerator current reached 75 kA. The switch impedance then rose rapidly to approximately 100 ..omega.. in 5 nanoseconds, whereupon the accelerator current transferred to the cathode. Current rise rates of 3.10/sup 13/ A/sec were limited by cathode turn-on. Voltage rise rates of 10/sup 15/ V/sec were achieved. The elimination of prepulse and machine turn-on transients allowed A-K gaps of 2 mm to be used with 2.5 MV pulses, yielding average E fields of 12 MV/cm. Staged versions of the device are being built and should improve rise rates. The switch shows promise for use with future, higher power, lower inductance machines.

• Research Organization: Sandia Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: E(29-1)-789
• OSTI ID: 7331707
• Report Number(s): SAND-76-5729; CONF-761106-2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700203* -- Fusion Power Plant Technology-- Power Supplies
Energy Storage
CATHODES
CURRENTS
ELECTRIC CURRENTS
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
ELECTRODES
ELECTRON SOURCES
EQUIPMENT
IMPEDANCE
PARTICLE SOURCES
PLASMA
RADIATION SOURCES
SPECIFICATIONS
SWITCHES