Enhanced Performance of Series Microexploding Bridge Planar Discharge Switch Integrated With Exploding Foil

Abstract

To achieve the low energy, miniaturization, and low cost of the exploding bridge foil initiator, single and series microexploding bridge planar discharge switch (MEB-PDS) coplanar and cocathode integrated with exploding bridge foil is fabricated by magnetron sputtering and photolithography forming etching in this work. The maximum electrostatic field strength and breakdown voltage of the MEB-PDS are calculated by multiphysics field theory. The breakdown voltage, conduction performance, MEB electrical explosion performance, and integrated exploding foil initiator (EFI) of the MEB-PDS have been tested. The relationship between breakdown voltages and design parameters, variation law between conduction time and design parameters, operating voltages and trigger voltages, and the matching between operating voltages and trigger voltages of MEB-PDS are analyzed. The results show that the breakdown voltages of single-bridge and three-series MEB-PDS can meet the insulation requirements at the operating voltage. The plasma clouds generated by the three-series MEB-PDS converge and superimpose, which results in its better conduction performance and operating reliability than single MEB-PDS. Based on the optimization of MEB structure parameters, the breakdown voltage of the three-series MEB-PDS is 2.848 kV at a trigger voltage of 0.600 kV. The 50% ignition voltage sensitivity U (50%) of the corresponding integrated exploding foil initiator is 1.191 kV, and the 99.9% ignition voltage sensitivity U (99.9%) is 1.269 kV. Compared with other types of spark gap discharge switches, U (99.9%) is reduced by 11.07%. The trigger voltage of the switch is reduced from ∼1.5 to 0.6 kV.