Graphite-electrode gas-switching system in high energy module

This article discusses the overall system design, manufacturing and testing process of the main switch and the pre-ionization switch in the high energy module. A two-electrode gas switch is selected in the main discharge circuit as the main switch, because it has a long working life under the current which has high value and low rise time, and a pulse transformer-based main switch trigger generator is thus constructed, the pressure control device is an auxiliary equipment of the system. While in the pre-ionization circuit, a three-electrode gas switch is selected as the discharge switch, and the principles of a trigger generator are given, the generator could both output high voltage and large current. Finally, the tests of electrical characteristics show that the two-electrode switch can sustain a peak current over 700 kA with a total volume of more than 200 kC transferred, in addition the switch life can be extended through the replacement of electrodes. Under the absolute pressure of 130 kPa and the charging voltage of 23 kV, the average breakdown delay of the three-electrode gas switch is 7.5 s, the delay jitter is 0.656 s, and the life test results of the pre-ionization switch show that the switch has 4000 times working life without replacing the graphite electrodes, and the total transferred charge exceeds 10 kC.