Abstract:
It is known that pulsed reflow of electrodes surface with low-energy high-current electron beam to a depth of several microns significantly increases the level of electrical strength of vacuum gaps. The paper presents experimental data indicating the possibility of additional 30% electrical strengthening of vacuum gaps based on steel (12X18H10T, Russian analog of AISI 304) electrodes by preliminary irradiating the electrodes (before their surface reflow) with ion flow extracted by a series of short negative bias voltage pulses from argon plasma with density $\sim$10$^{19}$ m$^{-3}$.
Keywords:electrical strength of vacuum gap, low-energy high-current electron beam, pulsed ion flow.
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