Theoretical simulation of a low pressure gas breakdown in the gap with combined metal-dielectric electrodes

The problem of an electronic devices collapse is particularly relevant for electronics, operated under conditions of significant changes in temperature, pressure, and other critical factors. Currently, the main cause of failure of electrical equipment is microscopic electrical discharges between closely spaced conductive elements of printed circuit board (PCB). The final stages of the development of such micro-discharges are arcs characterized by a large quantity of energy, which leads to the destruction of the circuit elements. This paper considers two-dimensional theoretical model of self-discharge between the current-carrying PCB elements for a wide range of gas pressures (from sub-atmospheric pressure to closed vacuum conditions), and initial concentration of electrons, which are characteristics of the operating conditions of spacecrafts and other large vacuum systems. The basic advantages of the proposed model are demonstrated (such as a wide variety of boundary conditions types and geometric of the discharge gap shapes, the scalability of the critical parameters of the environment, simple representation of surface reactions, etc).