Breakdown of pulsed power switches triggered by fast-rising impulses

The trigger mechanism of a three-electrode spark gap triggered by fast-rising impulses at different working voltages and trigger impulses has been investigated experimentally by measuring the potential waveforms of the trigger electrode during the course of breakdown. Two important parameters which can reflect the breakdown process, delay time and its jitter, have been derived by this method. The investigation shows that the working voltage of the switch and the trigger impulse have obvious influences on the switching process. For constant trigger impulses the delay time and jitter of the switch decrease with increasing working voltage, whereas for constant working voltages the delay time of the switch is not influenced much by the steepness of the trigger impulse