Explosive Plasma Formation on Electrodes

Abstract

Breakdown and "explosive" plasma formation on electrodes are basic processes in pulsed power discharges. Despite their fundamental importance, the details of cathode spot formation have not been well understood. Breakdown in a vacuum diode is initiated by field emitted electrons. Besides joule heating of the emitting spot, the electrons also ionize desorbed gas layers. These ions fall back to the cathode, heating the surface of the electron emitting spot. Ion surface heating is initially orders of magnitude larger than joule heating.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA633750

Entities

People

  • F. Schwirzke
  • M. P. Hallal Jr.
  • X. K. Maruyama

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter IED
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Current Density
  • Diodes
  • Electric Fields
  • Electrodes
  • Electron Emission
  • Electrons
  • Emission
  • Energy
  • Explosives
  • Field Emission
  • Ion Bombardment
  • Materials
  • Nanosecond Time
  • Power
  • Pulsed Power
  • Space Charge
  • Voltage

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Plasma Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics