Design and Development of a High Voltage Coaxial Hydrogen Switch

The high power microwave program at the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) includes high power source development in narrow band and wideband technologies. The H2 source is an existing wideband source that was developed at the AFRL. A recent AFRL requirement for a wideband impulse generator to use in materials tests has provided the need to update the H2 source for the current test requirements. The H2 source is composed of a dual resonant transformer that charges a short length of coaxial transmission line. The transmission line is then discharged into an output coaxial transmission line with a self-break Hydrogen switch. The dual resonant transformer is driven by a low inductance primary capacitor bank operating through a sel-break gas switch. The upgrade of the coaxial Hydrogen output switch is the focus of this paper. The Hydrogen output switch was developed through extensive electrical and mechanical simulations. The switch insulator is made of Ultem 2300 and is designed to operate with a mechanical factor of safety equal to 4.0 at 1,000 psi. The design criteria, design data and operational data will be presented.