Analysis and implementation of the equivalent load circuit for switching performance of hot cathode plasma switch developed

The manuscript is focused on the equivalent load circuit physics for the switching performance of the 35 kV/1–8 kA sealed-off high current hot cathode plasma switch developed for the fast pulsed power applications in the recent scientific and industrial field. In this paper, physical interpretation of the equivalent circuit and the method to reduce the load inductance in the discharge path have been discussed, which are essential to achieve the high peak discharge current with lesser reverse current during the switching operation. Further, low inductive coaxial load circuit analysis has been done and almost ~ 50% reduction in the load inductance is estimated. Consequently, the discharge circuit arrangement has helped to increase the peak current by ~ 10% and also reduce the reverse current by ~ 50%. This low inductive coaxial load has been used to draw the maximum discharge peak current of ~ 8 kA at ~ 33 kV applied voltage during switching. For this, the cathode and reservoir supply currents was optimized ~ 17.5 A and ~ 5.5 A, respectively. This analysis would be very much useful for the design and development of high-power hot cathode plasma switch (Thyratron) with low reverse current for fast pulsed power applications.