High Voltage PCBs in Low Pressure and High Temperature Environment

This paper describes the issues of high voltage printed circuit boards (PCB) design in environments with lower air pressure and increased temperature. Such ambient conditions have significant impact on breakdown voltage, as it is described by Paschen’s curve. As this field was yet to be thoroughly investigated, there are major gaps in available literature. Pashen’s curve with temperature corrections, which describes relation between air pressure and breakdown voltage, can be used for clearance estimation only, because it considers a gas as dielectric. In the following paragraphs, overview of printed circuit boards is described with respect to minimization of partial discharge activity and electric breakdown occurrence.