Can intentional electrical discharges be used for HPM protection?
Paper in proceeding, 2011

The possibility to protect electronics against High Power Microwaves (HPM) using an intentional electrical discharge triggered by the HPM pulse has been investigated. The case considered is a resonant slot, located e.g. in an antenna array or in a Frequency Selective Surface (FSS). The reduction of the pulse energy transmitted through the slot is regarded to be the most important parameter of merit. Experimental and theoretical research showed that a spark in the middle of a 46.3 0.1 mm resonant slot, induced by the incident HPM-pulse, gave a reduction of the transmitted pulse energy of about 24 dB. The studies showed that the investigated approach can provide a quite good level of protection that at least reduces the requirements on additional protection components such as limiters integrated in receivers located behind the slot. In order to achieve a sufficiently strong enhancement of the electric field to initiate breakdown in wide slots one presumably has to introduce a small pointed gap in the middle of the slot. This may in turn require that a radioactive sample is located close to the gap in order to produce a sufficient number of seed electrons necessary for triggering the discharge. © 2011 IEEE.

Author

Mats G. Bäckström

Combitech

Ulf Jordan

Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI)

Dan Anderson

Chalmers, Earth and Space Sciences, Nonlinear electrodynamics

A. V. Kim

Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University

Mietek Lisak

Chalmers, Earth and Space Sciences, Nonlinear electrodynamics

Olof Lundén

Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI)

2011 IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility, EMC 2011; Long Beach, CA; 14 August 2011 through 19 August 2011

1077-4076 (ISSN)

752-757

Subject Categories

Physical Sciences

DOI

10.1109/ISEMC.2011.6038409

More information

Latest update

7/17/2019