Performance of high pressure nitrogen dielectric gas spark switch

This paper investigates the breakdown characteristics of high pressure nitrogen dielectric gas spark switch from the aspects of theoretical analysis, experimental study and software simulation. The theoretical pressure of the high pressure spark switch can reach 10 MPa, which is designed and manufactured according to the strength theoretical calculation. During the experiments of the high pressure spark switch, the nitrogen delay is less than 14 ns and the jitter is less than 1 ns under the conditions of 2, 4, or 6 MPa pressure and 0.1, 0.5, or1.0 mm electrode gap. The 50%-breakdown voltage is 34 kV with 2 MPa pressure and 0.1 mm electrode gap. The high pressure spark switch has better stability and insulating property than atmospheric air switch.