Nanosecond Sparkgap Switches

Abstract

This paper presents a mathematical model for the basic physics involved in fast sparkgap switches. The model considers the time dependent breakdown process for the gas under consideration. Parameters include the applied electric field, the gas pressure and electron elastic and inelastic collision frequencies. The model is applied to published test results for air and hydrogen sparkgap switches. The purpose of this study is to facilitate the design of sparkgap switches for use with magnetocumulative generator (MCG) driven circuits.