Inhibiting surface flashover with magnetic fields

The influence of magnetic fields on dielectric surface flashover is investigated for simple geometries and a variety of parameters (different dielectric materials, presence of ambient gas and plasma). Models based on the saturated secondary electron avalanche predict that magnetic insulation starts at the lowest amplitudes of the magnetic field if the avalanche electrons are lifted off the surface due to the E×B drift, which is in agreement with the experimental results. For practical applications, especially for low Earth orbit conditions, small-volume, low-weight permanent magnets with field amplitudes of 0.1 T are sufficient to increase the flashover voltage by more than 50%