CFDRC has filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office entitled “Advanced Multipurpose Pseudospark Switch.” The invention is a pseudospark switch that provides e-beams for applications such as free electron lasers, high power magnetrons, and compact x-ray generators and can be used as a high power switch for laser and microwave HV units, capacitor discharge, and crow bar protection; and in materials processing applications such as cutting, drilling, and film deposition.
One important feature of the switch is an induction coil built into a hollow cathode that inductively ionizes gas inside the hollow cathode chamber prior to main gap breakdown. Dr. Stelu Deaconu made the invention while conducting research funded by a contract from the U.S. Air Force.
