UV Radiation triggered rail-gap switch
First Claim
1. A rail-gap switch for applying a voltage from a high voltage source to a low impedance load comprising:
- first and second parallel elongated electrodes spaced to have an essentially constant width s gap between the electrodes, the gap having a gap length along the electrodes substantially greater than the gap width between the electrodes, the first electrode adapted to be connected to the high voltage source and the second electrode adapted to be connected to the low impedance load whereby one of the electrodes is positive with respect to the other electrode, the electrodes each having a cross-section providing a field enhancement factor f≦
1.5;
enclosure means, the electrodes being located within the enclosure means, and the enclosure means containing a gas mixture for maintaining a voltage holdoff between the electrodes; and
UV radiation source means for directing a narrow uniform cross-section beam of radiation in the gap along the gap length at a distance less than 0.2s from the positive electrode and substantially parallel to the pair of electrodes for initiating multichannel breakdown along the length of the gap between the electrodes.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The UV radiation triggered rail-gap switch applies a high voltage from a low impedance source to a low impedance load. The switch includes first and second parallel elongated electrodes spaced to form a uniform gap along their length. The first electrode is adapted to be connected to the high voltage source, while the second electrode is adapted to be connected to the low impedance load. When a voltage from the source is applied to the electrodes, one electrode will be positive relative to the other electrode. In addition, the cross-section of each of the electrodes is sufficiently smooth to prevent points of high field concentration between the electrode. This cross-section is defined by the field enhancement factor of each electrode which is preferably less than 1.5. The switch also includes an enclosure in which the electrodes are located and which contains a gas mixture for maintaining the breakdown threshold between the electrodes. A preferred gas mixture includes Ar, N2, and SF6 at a gas pressure selected to prevent breakdown in the switch until triggered by a UV radiation source. The UV radiation source directs a beam of radiation substantially parallel to the pair of electrodes, preferably near the positive electrode, for initiating multi-channel, sub-nanosecond jitter, breakdown in the gap between the electrodes. The UV radiation may be obtained from either an incoherent radiation source or an UV laser source, but should be of short duration in the form of a narrow beam which is uniform along its cross-section.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A rail-gap switch for applying a voltage from a high voltage source to a low impedance load comprising:
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first and second parallel elongated electrodes spaced to have an essentially constant width s gap between the electrodes, the gap having a gap length along the electrodes substantially greater than the gap width between the electrodes, the first electrode adapted to be connected to the high voltage source and the second electrode adapted to be connected to the low impedance load whereby one of the electrodes is positive with respect to the other electrode, the electrodes each having a cross-section providing a field enhancement factor f≦
1.5;enclosure means, the electrodes being located within the enclosure means, and the enclosure means containing a gas mixture for maintaining a voltage holdoff between the electrodes; and UV radiation source means for directing a narrow uniform cross-section beam of radiation in the gap along the gap length at a distance less than 0.2s from the positive electrode and substantially parallel to the pair of electrodes for initiating multichannel breakdown along the length of the gap between the electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A rail-gap switch for applying a preselected maximum voltage from a high voltage source to a low impedance load comprising:
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first and second parallel elongated electrodes spaced to have an essentially constant width s gap between the electrodes, the gap having a gap length along the electrodes substantially greater than the gap width between the electrodes, the first electrode adapted to be connected to the high voltage source and the second electrode adapted to be connected to the low impedance load whereby one of the electrodes is positive with respect to the other electrode, the electrodes each having a cross-section providing a field enhancement factor, f≦
1.5;enclosure means, the electrodes being located within the enclosure means, and the enclosure means containing a gas mixture at a preselected pressure for maintaining a voltage holdoff between the electrodes in order to prevent breakdown in the switch unless triggered; and UV radiation source means for directing a narrow uniform cross-section beam of radiation in the gap along the gap length at a distance less than 0.2s from the positive electrode and substantially parallel to the pair of electrodes for triggering multichannel breakdown along the length of the gap between the electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneeCanadian Patents and Development Limited
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Original AssigneeCanadian Patents and Development Limited
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InventorsLeopold, Kurt E., Taylor, Roderick S., Alcock, A. John
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Primary Examiner(s)Dixon, Harold
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Application NumberUS06/417,177Time in Patent Office802 DaysField of Search315/150, 315/154, 315/156, 250/372, 250/373US Class Current315/150CPC Class CodesH01T 2/00 Spark gaps comprising auxil...
