Abstract
Pseudo-spark switches have been successfully used in a variety of
pulsed-power applications, including the European Large Hadron Collider,
the Z-hoop fusion device, and the Dense Plasma Focus device. For such
applications, it is important to reduce the trigger energy of the switch
to save cost and improve stability. In this paper, a laser-triggered
pseudo-spark switch is designed, which is triggered by a laser with a
wavelength of 532 nm. Increasing the laser energy reduces the delay and
jitter of the switch, and the laser energy threshold of 1.5 mJ for
achieving switch stability can make the jitter of the switch less than 1
ns; in addition, increasing the hydrogen pressure inside the tube
reduces the delay and jitter of the switch; and when the triggering
energy is sufficiently large, the switch delay and jitter do not change
with the switch when the anode voltage is changed, and the switch delay
and jitter do not change with the switch. When the trigger energy is
large enough, changing the anode voltage, the delay and jitter of the
switch do not change with the switching voltage.