Kinetic simulation of breakdown time variation for gaps filled with dielectric particles

Breakdown simulations typically resort to initiation by artificially seeding part of the domain with an initial plasma. or by adding a trickle current orders of magnitude larger than what is physical. In order to simulate observed variations in breakdown voltages and times in pulsed voltage experiments with dielectric particles, we present here a more physical model for the generation of the initial plasma. In an upcoming set of experiments on a 250 μm air-filled gap with. and without a dielectric present, breakdown voltages will be measured after applying a short UV light pulse just before the anode voltage is ramped up at 200 kV/μs.