Electrical Performance Characterisation of Single-Shot Switches in High Speed, High Voltage and High Current Applications.

Abstract

The electrical performance characteristics of single-shot closing switches for slapper detonator applications were measured via the discharge of a low impedance transmission line. The switch performance, characterised by its time-dependent resistance behaviour, could not be assessed via the more conventional methods of measurement because of high bandwidth requirements at comparatively high levels of voltage and current. Hence, an alternative technique based on a transmission line discharge was devised in which the time-dependent resistance of the switch can be determined from the measured current waveform of the switch, the initial open circuit voltage and the transmission line parameters only. Under certain conditions a simple lossless transmission line formula is sufficient for the calculation of the switch resistance waveform. However, if the transmission line losses cannot be neglected, a correction can be readily implemented through numerical signal processing. The bandwidth of this technique is limited to the bandwidth of the switch current measurement only, which proved to be particularly useful for the measurement of switches for slapper detonator applications where inductive pick-up noise in the switch voltage waveform is large and where high voltage probes of sufficiently high bandwidth are not readily available. In this report, both numerically simulated and experimental examples are given, together with the method of calculation of switch resistance which takes into account practical transmission line losses. It was found that best results are obtained if the magnitude of the switch resistance is of a similar order as the characteristic impedance of the transmission line, or higher.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1994
Accession Number
ADA293871

Entities

People

  • Michael Podlesak

Organizations

  • Defence Science and Technology Group

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Bandwidth
  • Computer Programming
  • Energetic Materials
  • Explosives
  • High Voltage
  • Impedance
  • Materials
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Measurement
  • Resistance
  • Signal Processing
  • Strip Transmission Lines
  • Transmission Lines
  • Voltage
  • Wave Phenomena
  • Wave Propagation
  • Waveforms

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Integrated Circuit Design and Technology.
  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics
  • Radar Systems Engineering.