Research of a High-Current Repetitive Triggered Spark-Gap Switch and its Application

This paper discusses the development and testing of a low-jitter, high-voltage, high-current, and triggered spark-gap switch, designed as part of an intense electron-beam accelerator (IEBA). The voltage/pressure (V/p) curve of the switch was measured for N₂ when the gas pressure is 0.10-0.25 MPa with the main gap spacing of 10 mm. In addition, the operating ranges, delay time, and jitter of the switch were measured during the single trigger experiment when the gas pressures were 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, and 0.25 MPa and the trigger voltage was 80 kV. The experimental results showed that the operating ranges of the switch were 25%-94%, 38%-86%, 40%-88%, and 44%-88% of the switch´s self-breakdown voltage, and these results also identified a suitable operating condition for the application of the switch on the IEBA. When the gas pressure was 0.25 MPa, the operating voltage was 40 kV, which was about 88% of the self-breakdown voltage, the delay time was 50 ns, and jitter was 1.28 ns. At last, the repetition rate of the switch was measured when the switch was used as the trigger switch of the IEBA. The pulse repetition rate (PRR) is 10 Hz at the operating voltage of 20 kV and peak currents of 40 kA. The PRR is 5 Hz at the operating voltage of up to 40 kV and the peak currents of up to 80 kA. The switch works steadily and reliably.