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Switching characteristics of vacuum gap switch employing UV‐laser triggering
Author(s) -
Satou Kazunori,
Sugawara Akira,
Itou Takayuki,
Itagaki Kouichi
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
electrical engineering in japan
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.136
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1520-6416
pISSN - 0424-7760
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6416(200008)132:3<8::aid-eej2>3.0.co;2-7
Subject(s) - materials science , jitter , spark gap , laser , optics , electrode , optoelectronics , wavelength , ignition system , voltage , electrical engineering , physics , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics , engineering
The switching time and arc‐ignition probability of a sustained main discharge in a laser trigger vacuum gap were measured. The third harmonic beam of an Nd:YAG pulse laser (wavelength 355 nm, energy 5 mJ/pulse, power density 4 × 10 7 W/cm 2 ) was used to trigger the gap. The main electrodes 85 mm in diameter were made of oxygen‐free copper. The gap length was 1.6 mm and the experimental chamber was evacuated to about 1.3 × 10 4 Pa by a turbomolecular pump. The UV beam from the laser was focused at normal incidence onto the grounded cathode. The switching time decreased and the arc‐ignition probability increased with increasing applied voltage. The switching time was 326 ns at 15 kV with a circuit inductance of 107 μH. Its jitter was 24.8 ns. The advantageous results obtained with the UV beam are compared to the previously reported data on triggered vacuum gaps. © 2000 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 132(3): 8–13, 2000