Cold Cathode Thyratrons for High-Current Discharge Experiment

This paper presents an investigation into cold-cathode thyratron as a pulse conditioning switch for a high-current discharge experiment. In our experiment, a 750 uF capacitor bank operating up to a rated charge voltage of 10 kV is discharged into a 50 uF inductive load and under short circuit conditions, generating peak currents of 3~100 kA. The high-voltage switch unit consists of two parallel-connected TDI4-200k/20HS cold-cathode thyratrons, each with a rated anode voltage of 25 kV and a forward current of up to 200 kA. The thyratrons are connected in two configurations; firstly, with a floating cathode potential, and then with a grounded cathode. Undesirable phenomena such as voltage spikes at a floating cathode potential, and current imbalance are recorded. Finally, the performance of the thyratrons based on their delay time to gas breakdown, repeatability, jitter, and overall reliability are verified through experimentation.