Experimental study of XeCl laser-triggered gas switches

Performance of XeCl excimer laser-triggered DC-charged gas (N₂, SF₆) switches was studied. Experimental results indicated that triggering thresholds of XeCl laser (λ=308 nm, FWHM=21 ns) for N₂ and SF₆ are about 10⁸W/cm at 0.1 MPa and 90% V_SB and the delay and jitter time decrease with the increase of laser energy and undervoltage ratio. At 90% V_SB (V_SB=36.5 kV) and 33.8 mJ of laser energy, the delay and jitter of nitrogen switch are less than 85.5 ns and 400ps, respectively. At the same undervoltage ratio, the minimum jitter for SF switch (V_SB=52 kV) is 2 ns. The delay of SF gas switch is consistent with that given by T.H. Martin's formula.