Performance Characteristics of a Commercial-Grade Back-Lighted Thyratron

Abstract

The performance characteristics of a single-gap, back-lighted-thyratron (BLT) design are reported. This switch, a sealed, ceramic-metal, hydrogen-filled, flashlamp-triggered device, operates over an internal pressure range of 100 to 500 mTorr (13.3 to 66.7 Pa). This characterization is based on the testing of three separate single-gap prototype devices (built by ITT) all with identical electrode geometries. Three different test circuits were used to evaluate the following switch characteristics: (1) DC holdoff, (2) delay, (3) jitter, (4) di/dt, (5) recovery, (6) switch losses, and (7) rep-rate. These parameters were measured while varying switch voltage, current, and internal pressure. Some of the best performance characteristics include: peak switched current of 34 kA, peak switched voltage of 78 kV, minimum delay of 700 ns, minimum jitter of 15 ns, maximum di/dt of 6.7xl011 A/sec, and minimum two-pulse recovery time of 470 J-IS.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA638004

Entities

People

  • E. D. Ball
  • J. K. Pillow
  • J. S. Bernardes

Organizations

  • Naval Surface Warfare Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Circuits
  • Electric Fields
  • Electrodes
  • Electrons
  • Elements
  • Energy
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Frequency
  • Hydrogen
  • Impedance
  • Mean Free Path
  • Metal Vapors
  • Metals
  • Pulsed Power
  • Recovery
  • Standards
  • Thyratrons

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Electronics Engineering