Coaxial shunt intended for transient current measurement in a pseudospark switch

Abstract

In a pseudospark discharge, a fast breakdown phase appears, during which a high density charge particle beam is extracted from electrodes, corresponding to a fast rise of about 1011 A/s. To achieve this, a mainly ohmic coaxial shunt for transient current measurement was realised (200 MHz bandwidth and 1 kA upper limit for measurable current), to avoid the earthed inductance influence. Measurement accuracy allowed an energetic balance of the switching to be drawn up with the appropriate time resolution.