The use of attachers in electron-beam sustained discharge switches—theoretical considerations

Abstract

Electron-beam sustained discharges can be used in opening and closing switch applications for producing bursts of energy in pulsed power systems. The incorporation of admixtures of attachers with low attachment rate at low values of E/N and high attachment rate at high values of E/N in the gaseous switch dielectric has been proposed to achieve low forward voltage drop in the conduction phase as well as rapid opening when the sustaining e-beam is terminated. This paper presents model calculations on the characteristics and transient behavior of an electron-beam sustained discharge in the high current density regime in N2. The influence of an attacher (N2O), with the property described above, and of the circuit parameters on the discharge is investigated as an illustrative example. The advantage of using such an attacher is demonstrated for the steady state conduction phases and for the opening phase, while the closing process is obstructed by the attacher. Additional possible control mechanisms, such as photodetachment to aid the closing process are discussed.