Electron-optical study of the initial phase of subnanosecond pulsed electric breakdown of gas-filled gaps

The glow accompanying the breakdown of gas gaps with a strong overvoltage by voltage pulses with 1-ns and shorter fronts is studied by electron optics methods. The filling of the gap with glow was accompanied by the development of ionization wave processes originating in the bulk of the gas and controlling the first stage of the breakdown. The dynamics of evolution of ionization waves in the electrode gap was analyzed in the 1D approximation. The results of calculations are in qualitative agreement with experiment. This leads to the conclusion that breakdown can be initiated from the bulk of the gas rather than from the surface of the electrodes. At this stage, the electrodes are mainly required for producing the electric field in the gap.