Microparticles and their effects in vacuum diodes

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Abstract
There has been considerable interest over the last few years in high‐voltage vacuum devices for pulsed power applications in inertial confinement fusion and weapons related areas. This paper describes both the microparticles created in vacuum diodes and the impact craters that are formed when these microparticles collide at high and hypervelocities with the diode components. Particles formed from molten electrodes can have field enhancement factors greatly above that for a spherical particle on the electrode surface. This enhancement of the local electric field on the particles can lead to the high velocities encountered. Velocities of the particles are calculated to be in the range 104–106 m/s, and these compare favorably with those found in the literature. The presence of microparticles in high‐voltage diodes can lead to lower breakdown voltages and premature degradation of insulator and other diode components.