Mechanism of subnanosecond switching in eptron

The initial stage of breakdown in an eptron – device based on capillary discharge and plasma cathode has been studied. It is shown that in the general case the discharge develops in two stages due to different mechanisms of plasma generation in the capillary and cathode, which leads to reflection of ionization wave from weakly ionized plasma of the cathode. Artificial increase of its concentration brings both stages closer together and allows obtaining subnanosecond switching times.