A study of pulsed high voltage driven hollow-cathode electron beam sources through synchronous optical trigger

In this study,a pulsed,high voltage driven hollow-cathode electron beam sources through an optical trigger is designed with characteristics of simple structure,low cost,and easy triggering.To validate the new design,the characteristics of hollow-cathode discharge and electron beam characterization under pulsed high voltage drive are studied experimentally and discussed by discharge characteristics and analyses of waveform details,respectively.The validation experiments indicate that the pulsed high voltage supply significantly improves the frequency and stability of the discharge,which provides a new solution for the realization of a high-frequency,high-energy electron beam source.The peak current amplitude in the high-energy electron beam increases from 6.2 A to 79.6 A,which indicates the pulsed power mode significantly improves the electron beam performance.Besides,increasing the capacitance significantly affects the highcurrent,lower-energy electron beam more than the high-energy electron beam.

A reusable planar triggered spark-gap switch batched-fabricated with PCB technology for medium- and low-voltage pulse power systems

Triggered spark-gap switch is a popular discharge switch for pulse power systems.Previous studies have focused on planarizing this switch using thin film techniques in order to meet the requirements of compact size in the systems.Such switches are one-shot due to electrodes being too thin to sufficiently resist spark-erosion.Additionally,these switches did not employ any structures in securing internal gas composition,resulting in inconsistent performance under harsh atmospheres.In this work,a novel planar triggered spark-gap switch(PTS)with a hermetically sealed cavity was batched-prepared with printed circuit board(PCB)technology,to achieve reusability with low cost.The proposed PTS was inspected by micro-computed tomography to ensure PCB techniques meet the requirements of machining precision.The results from electrical experiments demonstrated that PCB PTS were consistent and reusable with lifespan over 20 times.The calculated switch voltage and circuit current were consistent with those derived from real-world measurements.Finally,PCB PTS was used to introduce hexanitrostilbene(HNS)pellets in a pulse power system to verify its performance.

Characteristics of Resistance Triggering of a Pulsed Vacuum Arc Ion Source

Triggering scheme is a significant factor that may influence the process of vacuum arc initiation. In this work, the characteristics of resistance triggering of a pulsed vacuum arc ion source are investigated and compared with the independent pulse generator triggering. The results show that although the resistance triggering method is capable of triggering a vacuum arc ion source by properly choosing the resistance and electric parameters, it inevitably increases the rise time of the arc current. A high speed multiframe camera is used to reveal the transition process o~ arc initiation during one shot. From the images it is conjectured that the lower voltage between the cathode and the anode may be the reason that leads to the lower transition speed of discharge at the moment of arc initiation.

Study on the plasma generation characteristics of an induction-triggered coaxial pulsed plasma thruster

At present,spark plugs are used to trigger discharge in pulsed plasma thrusters（PPT）,which are known to be life-limiting components due to plasma corrosion and carbon deposition.A strong electric field could be formed in a cathode triple junction（CTJ） to achieve a trigger function under vacuum conditions.We propose an induction-triggered electrode structure on the basis of the CTJ trigger principle.The induction-triggered electrode structure could increase the electric field strength of the CTJ without changing the voltage between electrodes,contributing to a reduction in the electrode breakdown voltage.Additionally,it can maintain the plasma generation effect when the breakdown voltage is reduced in the discharge experiments.The induction-triggered electrode structure could ensure an effective trigger when the ablation distance of Teflon increases,and the magnetic field produced by the discharge current could further improve the plasma density and propagation velocity.The induction-triggered coaxial PPT we propose has a simplified trigger structure,and it is an effective attempt to optimize the micro-satellite thruster.

Numerical Analysis of the Output-Pulse Shaping Capability of Linear Transformer Drivers

Output-pulse shaping capability of a linear transformer driver （LTD） module under different conditions is studied, by conducting the whole circuit model simulation by using the PSPICE code. Results indicate that a higher impedance profile of the internal transmission line would lead to a wider adjustment range for the output current rise time and a narrower adjustment range for the current peak. The number of cavities in series has a positive effect on the output- pulse shaping capability of LTD. Such an improvement in the output-pulse shaping capability can primarily be ascribed to the increment in the axial electric length of LTD. For a triggering time interval longer than the time taken by a pulse to propagate through the length of one cavity, the output parameters of LTD could be improved significantly. The present insulating capability of gas switches and other elements in the LTD cavities may only tolerate a slightly longer deviation in the triggering time interval. It is feasible for the LTD module to reduce the output current rise time, though it is not useful to improve the peak power effectively.

A High Power Semiconductor Switch RSD for Pulsed Power Applications

High power switch is one of the most important components in pulsed power technology. The RSD （Reversely Switched Dynistor）, turned on by a thin layer of an electron-hole plasma, is a high power semiconductor switch. In this study, the RSD turn-on conditions were investigated by numerical analysis and device simulation as well as the experiments conducted to validate the turn-on conditions. A design of a triggering high-voltage RSD is presented based on a saturable transformer.

Investigation on 10/350 Crowbar Pulse Current Circuit

Structure of main air discharging switch and a crowbar TVS （triggered vacuum switch） are designed and their triggering characteristics are investigated. The experimental results showed that for TVS the operating voltage range is from 1.3 kV to 120 kV, its maximum delay time is 400 ns and its jitter is 4-10 ns. Based on these results the crowbar 10/350μs （i.e., with a front time of 10μs and a duration of 350 μs） pulse current circuit and its controlling circuit are designed. With a 10μF stored capacitor C and a 6 μF waveform forming induction, a pulse current is generated with a maximum of 100 kA, front time of 10 ns and duration of 350μs. This pulse waveform can be used for testing SPD （surge protective devices）.

Digital control system for pulsed MIG welding power based on STM32

Digital control system for pulsed MIG welding power based on STM32 is set up with 32-bit STM32FlO3ZET6 directing against the pulse waveform modulation of pulsed MIG welding. High-frequency inverter and medium-low frequency pulse waveform modulation of pulsed MIG welding are realized by using the integrated PWM module within STM32 to generate PWM signals of phase-shifted full-bridge soft-switching and constant-current control of output current is achieved by means of anti-windup PI control algorithm to improve the stability and reliability of control system. Experimental results demonstrate that the designed digital control system based on STM32 can achieve pegrect pulsed MIG welding technique with stable welding process and good weld appearance, fully demonstrating the advantages of digital control based on STM32.

Kinetics study of the solvated electron decay in THF using laser-synchronised picosecond electron pulse

Picosecond pulse radiolysis of neat tetrahydrofuran (THF) shows a fast decay of the solvated electron within 2.5ns.The decay of the solvated electron observed at 790nm is because of spur reaction.A numerical simulation using time dependent Smoluchowski equation containing a sink term with a distance dependent reaction rate is used to fit the pulse-probe data and shows that the geminate reaction can proceed at long distance in this low polar solvent.

Photoconductive semiconductor switch-based triggering with 1 ns jitter for trigatron

Synchronization for multiple-pulse at nanosecond range shows a great value on the power multiplication and synchronous electric fieldsapplications. Nanosecond or sub-ns jitter synchronization is essential for the improved working efficiency of the large amounts of pulse modulesand accurate requirements for the power coherent combining applications. This paper presents a trigger generator based on a laser diodetriggered GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch (PCSS) with low jitter and compact size characteristics. It avoids the high currentsthat are harmful to high-gain mode PCSSs. In the trigger circuit, a 200 pF capacitor is charged by a microsecond-scale 18 kV pulse and thendischarged via the high-gain mode GaAs PCSS to trigger the high-power trigatron switch. When triggered by the ~10 ns pulse generated by thePCSS, the DC-charged trigatron can operate in the 20e35 kV range with 10 ns rise time and 1 ns delay-time jitter.

Electrical triggering of earthquakes:results of laboratory experiments at spring-block models

Recently published results of field and laboratory experiments on the seismic/acoustic response to injection of direct current （DC） pulses into the Earth crust or stressed rock samples raised a question on a possibility of electrical earthquake triggering. A physical mechanism of the considered phenomenon is not clear yet in view of the very low current density （10-7-10-s A/m^2） generated by the pulsed power systems at the epicenter depth （5-10 km） of local earthquakes occurred just after the current injection. The paper describes results of laboratory ＂earthquake＂ triggering by DC pulses under conditions of a spring-block model simulated the seismogenic fault. It is experimentally shown that the electric triggering of the laboratory ＂earthquake＂ （sharp slip of a movable block of the spring-block system） is possible only within a range of subcritical state of the system, when the shear stress between the movable and fixed blocks obtains 0.98-0.99 of its critical value. The threshold of electric triggering action is about 20 A/m^2 that is 7-8 orders of magnitude higher than estimated electric current density for Bishkek test site （Northern Tien Shan, Kirghizia） where the seismic response to the man-made electric action was observed. In this connection, the electric triggering phenomena may be explained by contraction of electric current in the narrow conductive areas of the faults and the corresponding increase in current density or by involving the secondary triggering mechanisms like electromagnetic stimulation of conductive fluid migration into the fault area resulted in decrease in the fault strength properties.

An Active Triggered Surge Protective Gap

A triggered surge protective device is designed and its discharge characteristics axe studied. The experimental results show that the triggered surge protective device has excellent surge protective characteristics. When the gap distance is 5 mm, p. d is 90 Pa.mm and without an active energy trigger circuit, the DC breakdown voltage of the triggered surge protective device is 2.32 kV and the pulse breakdown voltage is 5.75 kV. Therefore, the pulse voltage ratio, which is defined as the specific value of pulse breakdown voltage and DC breakdown voltage, is 2.48. With a semiconductor ZnO flashover trigger device and an active energy coupling trigger circuit, the pulse breakdown voltage can be reduced to 3.32 kV, the pulse voltage ratio is 1.43 and the response time is less than 100 ns. These results are helpful in laying a theoretical foundation for further studies on triggered surge protective devices.

Structure-dependent behaviors of diode-triggered silicon controlled rectifier under electrostatic discharge stress

The comprehensive understanding of the structure-dependent electrostatic discharge behaviors in a conventional diode-triggered silicon controlled rectifier （DTSCR） is presented in this paper. Combined with the device simulation, a mathematical model is built to get a more in-depth insight into this phenomenon. The theoretical studies are verified by the transmission-line-pulsing （TLP） test results of the modified DTSCR structure, which is realized in a 65-nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor （CMOS） process. The detailed analysis of the physical mechanism is used to provide predictions as the DTSCR-based protection scheme is required. In addition, a method is also presented to achieve the tradeoff between the leakage and trigger voltage in DTSCR.

Zinc Oxide Surface Flashover Triggering of Pseudospark Switch

Accurate and reliable triggering is one of the most important issues with high power pseudospark switch, because it not only has an impact on the design of discharge chamber of switch, but also has an influence on the dynamic range of operation voltage, repetition frequencies and lifetime of switch. The unique feature of pseudospark switch is its hollow cathode geometry. The hollow cathode effect produced by the hollow cathode provides the protection of the switch for the triggering unit from erosion by high discharge plasma. In this paper, a zinc oxide (ZnO) surface flashover triggering is presented. This trigger unit possesses an excellent time delay (80 ns - 360 ns) and jitter (20 ns - 50 ns) at the switch voltage of 30 kV - 2 kV. The emitted plasma electron density is high enough to trigger switch reliably down to switch voltage of 440 V.

辉光放电触发重频伪火花开关研究

伪火花开关是工作在帕邢曲线左支的低气压开关,具有纳秒级击穿时间、百千安级脉冲电流、工作寿命长等特点。具有高重频性能的伪火花开关民用领域以及军事领域均有广泛的应用需求。基于双脉冲辉光放电触发结构,设计出一种具有重频能力的伪火花开关;在10 kV阳极电压下进行了整管测试,观察不同气压,预、主触发电压对重频性能以及触发性能的影响;结合仿真软件计算不同气压与触发电压下,触发电流的变化,最终总结了两个脉冲对触发过程的影响。测试结果表明,最低仅100 V触发电压,开关重复频率即可从沿面放电触发的100 Hz提升至400 Hz。

触发闪电环境下地网冲击接地电阻特征分析

基于触发闪电技术,研究了2019年夏季8次触发闪电44次回击、5次初始连续电流脉冲(ICCP)和24次M分量对冲击接地电阻的影响,探索了冲击接地电阻随雷电流注入的动态变化规律。结果发现:闪电放电ICCP、M分量和回击过程冲击接地电阻均小于工频接地电阻,ICCP和叠加在回击回落之后连续电流上的M分量冲击接地电阻略大于回击过程,平均值分别为11.2Ω和10.8Ω。叠加在回击下降沿上的M分量冲击接地电阻平均值7.8Ω,明显小于回击过程,最小值可达2.4Ω。ICCP和M分量冲击接地电阻随电流增加而减小,回击过程与电流峰值没有明显的相关性。叠加在回击下降沿上的M分量冲击接地电阻随雷电流峰值、背景电流值的增加呈指数衰减关系,还与之前回击电流峰值成一定的反比例关系。随着闪电回击电流的注入,冲击接地电阻呈现动态变化过程,小电流在回击峰值下降后出现一个缓慢增长的过程,大电流在回击峰值下降后出现一个快速下降的过程。闪电不同物理过程火花和电感效应的作用是不同的,两者共同作用决定了土壤的电离程度,从而决定了冲击接地电阻的大小和变化。

脉冲触发对固体火箭发动机内弹道压强抬升的影响

为了解固体火箭发动机在脉冲触发激励下的工作性能,设计了一种脉冲触发实验系统并开展实验研究,建立了脉冲触发内弹道模型。结果表明,实验系统压强抬升响应时间在25 ms以内,相较于延长段位置,发动机头部的压强扰动更大,扰动传播速度为1259 m/s;脉冲触发器峰值压强与发动机压强抬升预示误差均小于6%;延长段越长,脉冲触发产生的压强抬升越小;脉冲药量越大,压强抬升越大,脉冲药量与压强抬升呈近线性关系,药量从3 g增加到8 g,发动机压强抬升率从8.142%提升到31.594%;发动机压强抬升随脉冲触发器节流孔径的提升显著增大,孔径从1 mm增大到4 mm,压强抬升率从1.656%提升到了27.448%,壅塞作用导致1 mm的节流孔径无法达到脉冲触发效果;发动机压强抬升随着发动机喉径的增大而减小,喉径从12.50 mm提升到14.00 mm,压强抬升率从19.204%降低到了14.771%;对于本实验系统,触发时刻对发动机压强抬升影响小。

集成隔离30 kV全固态层叠Blumlein脉冲发生器

层叠Blumlein脉冲发生器具有灵活紧凑的优点,但由于开关隔离问题没有得到广泛运用。设计了一种集成隔离全固态层叠Blumlein脉冲发生器,利用4绕组共模电感为脉冲形成网络充电、驱动供电和高电压隔离的器件,解决了半导体开关应用于层叠Blumlein脉冲发生器的问题。首先介绍了隔离的原理,设计了包含共模电感和同步光触发隔离组件,以及基于IGBT开关阵列的Blumlein脉冲形成网络,分析了层叠Blumlein脉冲发生器的充放电过程;其次,对设计的Blumlein脉冲形成网络与层叠Blumlein脉冲发生器进行电路仿真;搭建了8级层叠Blumlein脉冲发生器,在匹配负载上实验得到电压30.0 kV、电流604 A、脉宽237 ns的方波脉冲。

基于脉冲变压器的快前沿固态触发器

结合理论求解、仿真分析与实验验证,确定了影响脉冲变压器型触发器输出前沿的主要因素,并研制了一台能可靠触发真空沿面闪络开关导通的快前沿固态触发器。研究结果表明:影响触发器输出脉冲前沿的关键因素为脉冲变压器漏感、匝数比和半导体开关开通速度;不同绕制方式的脉冲变压器漏感差异很大,最小漏感绕法的变压器漏感值低1个数量级;选用开通速度优于15 ns的碳化硅金属氧化物半导体场效应晶体管(SiC MOSFET)、绕制低漏感(小于0.5μH)的脉冲变压器,实现了前沿为20.4 ns(10%~90%)、幅值为16.5 kV的快前沿输出;控制SiC MOSFET的驱动脉宽在35~55 ns变化可以控制触发电流峰值在35~55 A范围内变化。

同步触发和级联滤波的分幅相机皮秒高压脉冲研究

脉冲展宽分幅相机是脉冲展宽技术与微通道板(microchannel plate,MCP)分幅相机的结合体,其时间分辨率与皮秒高压脉冲呈非线性波动关系.采用同步触发模式和级联结构LC高通滤波器产生皮秒高压脉冲,将其与影响时间分辨率的阴极电压和漂移距离结合,应用于脉冲展宽分幅相机的时间分辨率研究中.结果表明,同步触发式多级Marx电路能产生半高宽优于1 ns的高压脉冲,随着级联LC高通滤波器从1阶增至7阶,产生皮秒高压脉冲的半高宽从558 ps降至409 ps,幅值从-3.6 kV降至-1.4 kV,上升沿斜率的非线性波动为5.03~10.25 V/ps;将其加载于MCP通道内的光电子倍增模型,获得的MCP分幅相机时间分辨率由206 ps提高至149 ps;而将其应用于脉冲展宽分幅相机,随着阴极电压和漂移距离增加,时间分辨率的非线性波动为3.8~39.4 ps.通过数据统计和对比发现,当同步触发Marx电路与3阶LC高通滤波电路相结合时,脉冲展宽分幅相机的时间分辨率能达到最优.