Breakdown characteristics of a laser-triggered pseudospark discharge

1077-3118

AIP Digital Archive

Physics

Experimental observations are presented on the breakdown characteristics of a pseudospark discharge when a pulsed laser is used to illuminate the back surface of the cathode. The breakdown delay and jitter of the discharge are observed to be controlled by the laser. Observations are presented on the effect of the relative timing of the laser pulse with respect to the fast rising applied voltage. It is found that mJ illumination at up to tens of microseconds before the application of the voltage reduces significantly both delay to breakdown and jitter. High laser energy, applied after the voltage is established across the anode-cathode region, leads directly to breakdown with a delay of less than 100 ns.

Electronic Resource