A New Gas Switch for Low-Inductance Capacitor-Switch Assemblies

The paper presents a new three-electrode gas switch operating on the principle of field distortion for low-inductance capacitor-switch assemblies rated at a voltage of ±80 kV, discharge current of ≈100 kA, and rise time of 100 ns. According to measurements of its trigger delay and jitter at different voltages and pressure from 3 to 10 atm, the jitter of the switch (standard deviation) is 1.5 ns, allowing simultaneous switching of a large number of low-inductance capacitor-switch assemblies. The operating characteristics of the gas switch demonstrate its potential for successful use in LTD technologies.