Interrupting Characteristics Of Laser-triggered Vacuum Switch In High Oscillating Frequency Circuit

As a new type of triggered vacuum switch,the laser triggered vacuum switch has developed rapidly in recent years.It has many advantages compare with traditional triggered vacuum switch such as small size,compact structure,high trigger percision,the ability of triggered in a remote area and excellent conduction and so on.The laser triggered vacuum switch is promising in pulse power technology and other related fields.At present,the research on laser triggered vacuum switch mainly focuses on the study of the conduction characteristics.Previous research mainly includes the influence of a series of factors such as working polarity,kind of trigger material,working voltage value,and the distance between the main gap and so on,to the conduction characteristics.But,the research on the interruption characteristics is still insufficient.In this paper,a laser triggered vacuum switch based on a detachable chamber and a LC oscillating experimental platform have been designed.Some self-made inductors with different inductance values and some capacitors with different capacitance values habe been used to produce currents with different oscillating frequencies.Laser triggered vacuum switch with different structural electrodes including cup-shaped electrodes and flat electrodes,in the same time,with different kinds of trigger materials have been test in the platform described in this paper.The magnetic fields produced by the cup-shaped electrodes and changing with the current flow past the main gap can improve the interrupting ability of the laser triggered vacuum switch and can decrease the arc voltage.In the case of small current flowing through the main gap,the constant magnetic fields produced by Helmholtz coil,do not have the ability to improve the interrupting ability of laser triggered vacuum switch but can affect the appearance of laser triggered vacuum arc obviously.The constant magnetic fields make the arc appearance closer to the columnar.The trigger materials with low melting point and low work function can guarantee the small delay time and jitter time.The laser triggered vacuum switch with the trigger material that the mixture KCl and Ti,has the minimum interrupting ability.The results of the experiment can provide some theoretical support for the laser trigger vacuum switch design that can guarantee laser triggered vacuum switches meet the needs of different applications.In the same time,the results provide some reference and direction for further research on improving the interrupting ability of laser triggered vacuum switch.