Partial Discharges in Electronic Parts in Low Air Pressure Environment

This paper describes the issues of partial discharges in electronic parts in environments with low air pressure. Such ambient conditions have significant impact on breakdown voltage, as it is described by Paschen’s curve. There is very little research that would address measurement of actual commercially available parts. Pashen’s curve describes relation between breakdown voltage and air pressure, but partial discharges can be present below the threshold set by the curve. The biggest issue is to measure only partial discharges inside tested parts as the outer flashovers are not being investigated. In the following paragraphs measurement methods are described.