Switching behavior of a double gap pseudospark discharge

A modular double gap pseudospark discharge based switch has been recently designed and developed for various pulsed power applications. The modular pseudospark geometry has two gaps that are separated by a cavity drift space region. It employs a single trigger unit in the cathode region to initiate discharge for the rapid breakdown of both the gaps. Successful experiments for the double gap pseudospark with typical coaxial arrangement of multichannel discharges were performed. The peak discharge currents at breakdown voltage of about 40 kV were 5 and 10 kA through resistive loads of 5.25 and 2.7 Ω, respectively. The design of the double gap pseudospark along with switching results is presented in this paper.