High-power Pulsed Electrophysics
Phase metal-insulator transition under effect of pulsed currents and its use in current
opening switches and current limiters
Theory of high-power solid-state opening switches
(The work has been carried out in the frameworks of the Project №829 of International
Scientific and Technical Center under support of Los Alamos National Laboratory,
USA.)
Joule heating of a substance takes place at a magnetic field penetration into a conductor.
A non-linear current wave, propagating into the condutor, could form if the phase
transition metal-insulator of the first order takes place at temperature increase
in this substance. Solid solutions (V1-XCrX)2O3 are examples of such substance. This
phenomenon could be used for development of high-power solid-state opening switches.
Stability of a metal-insulator phase interface, which moves with medium heating,
is an key issue.
Current lines on the perturbed interface metal-insulator (the metal phase is on the
right, the interface moves from left to right, and the perturbation grows).
Experimental study of the phase metal-insulator transition kinetics at high-power
pulsed currents flow
(The work has been carried out in the frameworks of the Project № 1109 of International
Scientific and Technical Center under support of Los Alamos National Laboratory,
USA.)
A bench for investigation of the phase transition and nonlinear magnetic field penetration
in (V1-XCrX)2O3 has been developed. In the lower picture: 1 is the source current,
2 is the current in the load, the dotted line is the current in an active element
(V1-XCrX)2O3.