Observation by soft X-ray laser interferometry of Nb cathode surface evolution during very high electric field application

Autor: D. Phalippou, Ph. Zeitoun, Gerard Jamelot, David Ros, Annie Klisnick, Denis Joyeux, Antoine Carillon, Pierre Jaegle, Stéphane Sebban, M. Boussoukaya, F. Albert, A. Zeitoun-Fakiris
Rok vydání: 1999
Předmět:
Zdroj: IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation. 6:418-421
ISSN: 1070-9878
DOI: 10.1109/94.788736
Popis: We present the very first experiment allowing in situ observation of surface evolution during very high electric field application. This has been achieved by soft (/spl lambda/=21.2 nm) X-ray laser Fresnel two-mirror interferometry. The surface under study was a niobium planar cathode opposite to a stainless steel blade-like anode. The applied field range on the cathode was F/spl ap/0 to 50 MV/m. The interferograms were single shots of 80 ps duration, allowing to probe the surface morphology quasi-instantaneously. The delay between two shots was 20 min while the electric field was kept on. The comparison of successive interferograms gives the Nb surface evolution over /spl sim/2 h. Thus, we observed the appearance of defects of /spl sim/3 nm high and their evolution with time. These may be the precursors of the minute breakdown which occurred later on. This technique thus makes it possible to detect the preliminary stages of a discharge.
Databáze: OpenAIRE