Modeling statistical variations in high power microwave breakdown

Abstract

Flashover of high power microwave (HPM) vacuum isolation windows presents a serious design limitation of megawatt class HPM systems. The delay time from HPM radiation incident on the window to flashover development on the atmospheric side is critical. Previously developed modeling efforts have yielded reasonable correlation with experimentally observed average delay times while failing to capture any statistical variations. Simply preseeding the volume with an initial electron density is identified as inadequate to describe the source of initiatory electrons. The process of field assisted electron detachment is examined and shown to be a probable candidate for the initiatory electron generation.