Plasma triggered spark gap switch for multiple switch synchronization.

Area of Science:

• Pulsed Power Technology
• Plasma Physics
• Electrical Engineering

Background:

• Pulsed power applications require high-current, fast-switching devices.
• Traditional trigatron switches face limitations in current and switching speed.
• Plasma-based triggering offers potential for improved spark gap performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and evaluate a novel four-electrode plasma-based triggered spark gap switch.
• To investigate the performance characteristics of the new switch for pulsed power applications.
• To compare the performance of the four-electrode switch against a three-electrode trigatron switch.

Main Methods:

• A four-electrode spark gap switch was constructed with coaxial trigger electrodes (25 μm gap) and a main gap (0.6 mm).
• A 200 V trigger voltage was applied via a switching insulated gate bipolar transistor to initiate plasma generation.
• Performance was assessed by measuring discharge current peak and quarter-cycle time at 1000 V charging voltage.

Main Results:

• The four-electrode switch achieved a peak discharge current of 6.1 kA with a quarter-cycle time of 0.97 µs.
• This performance surpasses the three-electrode trigatron switch (6 kA peak current, 1.01 µs quarter-cycle time).
• Synchronized triggering of four switches demonstrated high precision (within 10 ns) with low jitter (< 5 ns).

Conclusions:

• The four-electrode plasma-based triggered spark gap switch provides superior performance for pulsed power applications.
• The design enables faster switching and higher peak currents compared to existing trigatron technology.
• The synchronized operation of multiple switches highlights its potential for complex pulsed power systems.