A Compact High Current Vacuum Diode Based on a Ceramic-Metal Welding Interface

Abstract

For one kind of high current diodes composed of a ceramic-metal welding vacuum interface, the electrical design was presented. For compactness, a radial type insulator and a cone-column anode crust were adopted. The shielding methods around cathode and anode region were applied to mitigate the influence of welding solder to vacuum flashover. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulation results indicated that by adjusting the anode outline and shielding shape, the electric fields along the ceramic were well distributed. High voltage test was conducted on a long-pulse accelerator and experimental results confirm the theoretic design: the diode can stably hold on 400 kV and 200 ns voltage pulse.