Nanosecond Triggering for Sealed-Off Cold Cathode Thyratrons With a Trigger Unit Based on an Auxiliary Glow Discharge

Abstract

This paper deals with the investigations of ceramic-metal sealed-off pseudospark switches with an auxiliary glow discharge in the trigger unit. The switches are produced commercially by the Pulsed Technology Ltd., Ryazan, Russia. Attention is concentrated on the switch TPI1-10k/50 (pulsed current-10 kA and anode voltage-up to 50 kV). The schematic design of the devices and the principles of function are described. It is demonstrated that the switch is able to operate with an electric circuit corresponding to the classical hydrogen thyratron and to the thyratron with a grounded grid. In both cases, a delay time to triggering in the vicinity of 100 ns and a nanosecond jitter in the delay time are achievable.Index Terms-Auxiliary glow discharge, grounded grid thyratron, pseudospark switch, pulsed discharge with hollow cathode, trigger unit.

Triggering of cold-cathode thyratron in electric circuit with grounded grid

“…4,[30][31][32][33][34] Note that the other method of the switch triggering depends on the so called electric circuit of classical thyratron. 5,6 In this circuit, the only grounded electrode is the cathode C 1 . The electrodes C and C 1 are connected with each other via resistor, and the trigger pulse of positive polarity is applied to the electrode C, which actually represents a grid of thyratron.…”

“…Then the terms cold-cathode thyratron or grounded-grid thyratron are also used in the current literature. [4][5][6][7] In early [1][2][3][4][5] and present-day [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] publications, there are described a variety of switch prototypes for different applications on the basis of the demountable experimental chambers with external gas filling. As a result of the investigations, the sealed-off switches had been developed 5 in which the operating gas pressure is maintained due to a heated hydrogen reservoir.…”

“…Currently, the switches are produced commercially by the Pulsed Technology Ltd., Ryazan, Russia [http://www.pulsetech.ru/index.htm]. [5][6][7] The paper deals with the batch of the sealed-off switches TPI whose anode voltage ranges from several kilovolts to 50 kV. 5 The trigger unit of these switches is based on a low-current steady state auxiliary glow discharge with a hollow cathode.…”

“…A great variety of the triggering methods can be used for the switches with auxiliary glow discharge. 3,[5][6][7] The methods seem to be convenient to classify in two categories. One of them corresponds to the so-called electric circuit of classical thyratron.…”

“…The method provides a nanosecond jitter in a delay time to triggering. 5,6 However, a drawback of the electric circuit of classical thyratron is that the anode voltage can appear at the grid in a form of a short duration high-voltage pulse (several tens of nanoseconds).…”