I'm designing some ESD test equipment for in-house use and need some
suggestions on relays. I am experimenting with a 5 kV COTO vacuum relay and
notice that I get some "runt" pulses. It appears that the contacts arc before
they touch and then the arc extinguishes after 50 ns and then reignites. About
half the time it the contacts appear to make physical contact before arcing.
If I remember correctly, the strength of a hard vacuum is 200 kV/cm. So, at 5
kV the contacts can arc when they are 25 microns apart (actually further apart
due to field enhancement). Are there any vacuum relays that do not exhibit
runt pulses?
Dave Cuthbert
Micron Technology
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