The aim of this paper is to compare the electrical performance of an orthogonally with a coaxially laser-triggered spark gap. Each of these two gaps has its own advantages and disadvantages. At the same time, a Rogowski profile spark gap was investigated in terms of its orthogonally laser-triggered performance. It was found that the Nd:YAG laser used (1 064 nm, 800 mJ) was able to reduced the breakdown voltage of a 50 mm gap by 70% from 135 kV to about 40 kV. The position of the laser-induced plasma was found to play a significant role in the breakdown process – best results being obtained when the laser was focused in the centre of the gap. Finally, the shape of the laser-induced arc is dependant on the applied electric field. When the field is low, the arc tends to avoid the laser-induced plasma thus exhibiting a very anomalous behaviour. When the field is increased, the arc tends to attach itself to the plasma as expected
Reference:
West, NJ, Jandrell, IR and Forbes, A. 2008. Remote triggering of high voltage systems by laser-induced plasmas. Optical Technologies for Arming, Safing, Fuzing, and Firing 4. San Diego, CA, United States, 13 August, pp 10
West, N., Jandrell, I., & Forbes, A. (2008). Remote triggering of high voltage systems by laser-induced plasmas. SPIE the International Society for Optical Engineering. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/3284
West, NJ, IR Jandrell, and A Forbes. "Remote triggering of high voltage systems by laser-induced plasmas." (2008): http://hdl.handle.net/10204/3284
West N, Jandrell I, Forbes A, Remote triggering of high voltage systems by laser-induced plasmas; SPIE the International Society for Optical Engineering; 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/3284 .