Parameters influencing breakdown characteristics of vacuum gaps during spark conditioning

Experiments have been made to identify the key parameters in the increase of the breakdown strength of a vacuum gap through repetitive breakdowns. The current-voltage waveforms were observed, the residual stress in electrodes was measured, and the chemical composition of the electrode surfaces and the energy of the valance-band electrons were analyzed. These experiments revealed that prebreakdown currents (field emission currents) were sometimes observed and sometimes not. The residual stress before and after 500 breakdowns changed significantly. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis before and after 500 breakdowns showed that the spectral lines of oxygen and carbon due to contaminants on the electrode surface were completely removed and the copper ones appeared clearly after 500 breakdowns. The valence-band electron energy spectrum of the anode after 500 breakdowns shifted towards the lower binding energy to almost coincide with the theoretical spectrum, while the energy spectrum for the cathode shifted towards sometimes higher and sometimes lower binding energy.