2010 Volume 130 Issue 12 Pages 1081-1086
To study the characteristics of breakdowns in different materials under a high RF field, a high-gradient experiment was proposed with using narrow waveguides having a field of around 140 MV/m at 50 MW power. Two experiments, one on copper (OFC) and another on stainless-steel (AISI-316L), were done. The breakdown rate of the copper waveguide was found to be larger than that of the stainless-steel waveguide at fields higher than several tens of megavolts per meter. The surfaces of both materials were observed after high-field experiments. The area suffering from heavy breakdowns was found to be rugged for the copper waveguide, while that of the stainless-steel smoother than the copper case, even though the heights of dips and bumps were almost the same at 20∼30 microns for the two materials. From these results, it was proven that the breakdown study using narrow waveguide under the high gradient field offered great potential.
The transactions of the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.A
The Journal of the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan