Vacuum Gap Switch Triggered by Exploding Wire

Abstract

In this paper, a vacuum gap triggerd by exploding a wire set near the main electrodes is proposed. The process of an exploding wire was simulated by the Runge-Kutta method applied to a model circuit incorporating the temperature-dependent, nonlinear resistance of the wire. The time needed for the complete melting of the wire gave a good estimate of the delay time of the gap. The delay time was independent of the width of the gap, the applied voltage with fixed width, and the position of the wire. A delay time of less than 10 microseconds and a jitter of less than 1 microsecond were obtained. The triggering mechanism has not yet been confirmed, but it is clear that the diffusion of metal vapor can not explain the triggering characteristics of the gap.