Comparison of vacuum-only and fiber-in-vacuum discharges

A comparison is made of vacuum-only and fibre discharges. A pulse liner is employed for the tests. The diagnostics employed include voltage and current monitors as well as time-resolved X-ray detectors. The fibres employed were eureka wire, hair and steel wire. It is found that the main differences are in the behaviour of the di/dt signal, and therefore in the integrated I(t) signal which shows signs of crowbarring in the case of fibre discharges. The emission of hard X-rays coincides with periods of arc stagnation or faltering.