Plasma cathode thyratron

Abstract : An instant-starting hydrogen thyratron is described which incorporates a cathode requiring no warmup time, no standby power, and no separate heater power supply. Starting cold, time jitter is less than 1 ns; anode delay time is less than 200 ns; and the 0-30 second anode delay time drift is less than 100 ns. The cathode is a self-heating design made of impregnated tungsten. Even when cold, it provides sufficient emission capability to trigger readily and to prevent arcing. During operation, it attains full operating temperature via plasma heating effects and its own resistive dissipation; after shutdown, it remains active, in readiness for the next cold start, a cycle which can be repeated as often as desired. Thyratrons made with the new cathode display operating behavior and life comparable to conventional hydrogen thyratrons of equivalent size. (Author)