Lecture 11

20.09.2021
Townsend’s Breakdown
Mechanism

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 76

 Electron Avalanche
❑ An electron avalanche is a process in which several free electrons in a
dielectric medium are subjected to strong acceleration by an electric field
and subsequently collide with other atoms of the medium, thereby ionizing
them (impact ionization).
❑ The original ionization event
liberates one electron, and
each subsequent collision
liberates a further electron,
so two electrons emerge
from each collision: the
ionizing electron and the
liberated electron

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 77

 Self-sustained vs Non-sustained Discharge
❑ The electrical discharges in
gases are of two types, i.e.
1. Non-sustained discharges,
and
2. Self-sustained discharges.

❑ If an electric discharge in a gas occurs only when some external effect

initiates and maintains ionization (that is, upon the action of an external
ionizer), the discharge is a non-sustained discharge.
❑ An electric discharge that continues even after an external ionizer
terminates to operate is called a self-sustained, or self-maintained discharge.

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 78

 Breakdown in steady and uniform Fields
❑ The spark breakdown in a gas is the transition of a non-sustained discharge into a
self-sustained discharge.
❑ The build-up of high currents in a breakdown is due to the process known as
ionization in which electrons and ions are created from neutral atoms or molecules,
and their migration to the anode and cathode respectively leads to high currents.
❑ At present two types of theories, viz. (i) Townsend theory, and (ii) Streamer theory
are known which explain the mechanism for breakdown under different conditions.
❑ The various physical conditions of gases, namely, pressure, temperature, electrode
field configuration, nature of electrode surfaces, and the availability of initial
conducting particles are known to govern the ionization processes.
❑ For several decades there has been controversy as to which of these mechanisms
governed spark breakdown.
❑ It is now widely accepted that both mechanisms operate, each under its own most
favorable conditions.
High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 79
 Townsend’s Breakdown Mechanism
❑ As the voltage between electrodes in a gas with small or negligible electron attachment
increases, the electrode current at the anode increases in accordance with Eqn given below.
𝑒 𝛼𝑑
𝐼 = 𝐼0
1 − 𝛾(𝑒 𝛼𝑑 − 1)
𝛼 𝐸 𝑉 𝑉
∵ =𝑓 and 𝐸 = , 𝛼 = 𝑝. 𝑓
𝑝 𝑝 𝑑 𝑝𝑑

𝑉
𝑝𝑑 .𝑓
𝐼 𝑒 𝑝𝑑 .
= 𝑉
𝐼0 𝑝𝑑.𝑓
1−𝛾 𝑒 𝑝𝑑
−1
❑ Until at some point there is a sudden transition from the dark current 𝐼0 to a self-sustained
discharge.
❑ At this point, the current (𝐼) becomes indeterminate and the denominator in the above equation
vanishes, i.e.
𝛾 𝑒 𝛼𝑑 − 1 = 1

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 80

 Townsend’s Breakdown Mechanism
❑ If the electron attachment is considered, this equation becomes
α𝛾
𝑒 (𝛼−𝜂)𝑑 − 1 = 1
𝛼−𝜂
❑ or approximately
𝛾𝑒 (𝛼−𝜂)𝑑 = 𝛾𝑒 𝛼ഥ 𝑑 = 1
❑ Since
𝑒 𝛼ഥ 𝑑 ≫ 1 and 𝛼 ≫ 𝜂
❑ where 𝛼ത = 𝛼 − 𝜂 represents the effective ionization coefficient.
❑ The electron current at the anode equals the current in the external circuit.
❑ Theoretically the value of the current becomes infinitely large, but in practice it is
limited by the external circuitry and, to a small extent, by the voltage drop within the
arc.
❑ Equation 𝛾𝑒 (𝛼−𝜂)𝑑 = 𝛾𝑒 𝛼ഥ 𝑑 = 1defines the conditions for inception of spark and is
called the Townsend criterion for spark formationor Townsend breakdown criterion.
High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 81
 Typical Current-Voltage Characteristics for
Electrical Discharge of Gases

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 82

 Lecture 12
21.09.2021
Streamer or ‘Kanal’ mechanism of spark

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 83

 Space Charge
❑ Accumulation of charged particles in a specific space within gap (insulation) is called space
charge.
❑ Excess electric charge is treated as a sequence of charge distributed over a region of
space rather than distinct point-like charges.
❑ Space charge usually only occurs in dielectric media (including vacuum) because in a
conductive medium the charge tends to be rapidly neutralized or screened.
❑ The sign of the space charge can be either negative or positive.
❑ This effect was first observed by Thomas Edison in light bulb filaments, where it is
sometimes called the Edison effect, but space charge is a significant phenomenon in many
vacuum and solid-state electronic devices.

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 84

 Streamer or ‘Kanal’ mechanism of spark
❑ This type of breakdown mainly arises due to the added effect of the space-
charge field of an avalanche and photo-electric ionization in the gas volume.
❑ While the Townsend mechanism predicts a very diffused form of discharge, in
actual practice. Many discharges are found to be filamentary and irregular.
❑ The Streamer theory predicts the development of a spark discharge directly
from a single avalanche.

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 85

 Streamer or ‘Kanal’ mechanism of spark
❑ The space charge produced in the avalanche causes sufficient distortion of the
electric field such that those free electrons move towards the avalanche head,
and in so doing generate further avalanches in a process that rapidly becomes
cumulative.
❑ As the electrons advance rapidly, the positive ions are left behind in a relatively
slow-moving tail. The field will be enhanced in front of the head.
❑ Just behind the head, the field between the electrons and the positive ions is in
the opposite direction to the applied field and hence the resultant field strength
is less.
❑ Again between the tail and the cathode, the field is enhanced.
❑ The exponent 𝑒 𝛼𝑑 describes the growth of charge carriers in an avalanche in a
uniform field 𝐸0 = 𝑉0 /𝑑.
❑ This is valid only if the electrical field of the space charges of electrons and ions
can be neglected compared to the external field 𝐸0 .
High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 86
 Lecture 13
22.09.2021
Streamer or ‘Kanal’ mechanism of spark

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 87

 Streamer or ‘Kanal’ mechanism of spark
❑ Raether observed in his studies of the effect of space charge of an
avalanche on its own growth, in such a way that when the charge
concentration was 106 − 108 , the growth of an avalanche was weakened.
❑ When the ion concentration exceeded 108 , the avalanche current was
followed by a steep rise in current and breakdown of the gap followed.
❑ Both the under-exponential growth at the lower concentration and rapid
growth in the presence of the high concentration have been attributed to the
modification of the originally uniform field 𝐸0 by the space charge field.

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 88

 Streamer or ‘Kanal’ mechanism of spark
❑ Figure shows diagrammatically the electric field
around an avalanche as it progresses along the gap
and the resulting modification to the original field 𝐸0 .
❑ For simplicity, the space charge at the head of the
avalanche is assumed concentrated within a
spherical volume, with the negative charge ahead
because of the higher electron mobility.
❑ The field is enhanced in front of the head of the
avalanche with field lines from the anode
terminating at the head.
❑ Further back in the avalanche, the field between the
electrons and the ions left behind reduced the
applied field (𝐸0 ).
❑ Still further back, the field between the cathode and
the positive ions is enhanced again. The field Figure: Diagrammatic representation of
distortion becomes noticeable with a carrier number field distortion in a gap caused by space
𝑛 > 106 . charge of an electron avalanche.
High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 89
 Streamer or ‘Kanal’ mechanism of spark
❑ However, if the carrier number in the avalanche reaches 𝑛 ≈ 108 the space charge field
becomes of the same magnitude as the applied field and may lead to the initiation of a
streamer.
❑ The space charge fields play an important role in the mechanism of corona and spark
discharges in non-uniform field gaps.
❑ In the Townsend spark mechanism, the gap current grows as a result of ionization by
electron impact in the gas and electron emission at the cathode by positive ion impact.
❑ According to this theory, formative time lag of the spark should be at best equal to the
electron transit time 𝑡𝑖 .
❑ In air at pressures around atmospheric and above 𝑝𝑑 > 103 𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑟 − 𝑐𝑚 the
experimentally determined time lags have been found to be much shorter than 𝑡𝑖 .
❑ Furthermore, cloud chamber photographs of avalanche development have shown that
under certain conditions the space charge developed in an avalanche can transform the
avalanche into channels of ionization known as streamers that lead to rapid development of
breakdown.
High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 90
 Streamer or ‘Kanal’ mechanism of spark
❑ From measurements of the pre-breakdown current growth and the minimum
breakdown strength, it has been found that the transformation from
avalanche to streamer generally occurs when the charge within the
avalanche head reaches a critical value of 𝑛0 𝑒 𝛼𝑥𝑐 ≈ 108 or 𝛼𝑥𝑐 ≈ 18 −
20, where 𝑥𝑐 is the length of the avalanche path in field direction when it
reaches the critical size.
❑ In the models developed by Raether and Meek it has been proposed that
when the avalanche in the gap reaches a certain critical size the combined
space charge field and externally applied field lead to intense ionization and
excitation of the gas particles in front of the avalanche head.
❑ Instantaneous recombination between positive ions and electrons releases
photons which in turn generate secondary electrons by the photoionization
process.

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 91

 Streamer or ‘Kanal’ mechanism of spark
❑ The resultant field strength in front of the avalanche is thus (𝐸 + 𝐸𝑟 ) while in the
positive ion region just behind the head the field is reduced to a value (𝐸 − 𝐸𝑟 ).
❑ The space charge increases with the avalanche length 𝑒 𝛼𝑥 .
❑ The condition for the transition from avalanche to streamer assumes that space charge
field 𝐸𝑟 approaches the externally applied field 𝐸𝑟 ≈ 𝐸 hence the breakdown criterion
equation becomes
𝛼𝑥𝑐 = 17.7 + ln 𝑥𝑐
❑ The minimum breakdown value for a uniform field gap by streamer mechanism is
obtained on the assumption that the transition from avalanche to streamer occurs when
the avalanche has just crossed the gap (𝑑).
❑ Then Raether’s empirical expression for this condition takes the form
𝛼𝑑 = 17.7 + ln 𝑑
❑ Therefore the breakdown by streamer mechanism is brought about only when the
critical length 𝑥𝑐 ≥ 𝑑.
❑ The condition 𝑥𝑐 = 𝑑 gives the smallest value of 𝛼 to produce streamer breakdown.

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 92

 Time-lag
❑ The time that elapses between the application of the voltage to a gap
sufficient to cause breakdown, and the breakdown, is called the time lag.
❑ Time lag consists of two components.
1. Statistical time lag 𝑡𝑠 is the time that elapses during the voltage
application until a primary electron appears to initiate the discharge.
2. Formative time lag 𝑡𝑓 is the time required for the breakdown to develop
once initiated.

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 93

 Lecture 13
22.09.2021
1. Paschen’s Law
2. Penning Effect

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 94

 Paschen’s Law
❑ An analytical expression for breakdown voltage for uniform field
gaps as a function of gap length and gas pressure can be
derived from the threshold equation by expressing the
ionization coefficient 𝛼ത Τ𝑝 as a function of field strength and
gas pressure.
𝛾(𝑒 (𝛼−𝜂)𝑑 − 1) = 𝛾(𝑒 𝛼ഥ 𝑑 − 1) = 1
❑ Substitute 𝛼ത Τ𝑝 = 𝑓 𝐸 Τ𝑝 in the criterion equation we obtain

𝐸 Τ𝑝 𝑝𝑑
1
𝑒𝑓 = +1
𝛾
❑ Or

1
𝑓 𝐸 Τ𝑝 𝑝𝑑 = ln +1 =𝐾 Louis Carl Heinrich Friedrich
𝛾 Paschen (1865-1947), a
For uniform field 𝑉𝑏 = 𝐸𝑑, where 𝑉𝑏 is the breakdown voltage, German physicist, known for his
work on electrical discharges.
𝑒𝑓 𝑉𝑏 Τ𝑝𝑑 𝑝𝑑
= 𝐾ሖ = 𝑒 𝐾 (1)

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 95

 Paschen’s Law
❑ Or
𝑉𝑏 = 𝑓(𝑝𝑑)
❑ which means that the breakdown voltage of a uniform field gap is a unique function
of the product of pressure (𝑝) and the electrode separation (𝑑) for a particular
gas and electrode material.
❑ Eq(1) is known as Paschen’s law, and was established experimentally in 1889.
❑ Eq(1) does not imply that the sparking voltage increases linearly with the product
𝑝𝑑, although it is found in practice to be nearly linear over certain regions.
❑ The relation between the sparking voltage and the product 𝑝𝑑 takes the form
shown in Fig. 9 (solid curve).
❑ The breakdown voltage goes through a minimum value 𝑉𝑏𝑚𝑖𝑛 at a particular value
of the product 𝑝𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑛 .

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 96

 Paschen’s Law

Figure 9 Sparking Voltage-𝒑𝒅 relationship (Paschen’s curve)

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 97
 Example 4
Let A=12, B=365 and γ=0.02 for air, determine (𝑝𝑑)𝑚𝑖𝑛 (𝑉𝑏 )𝑚𝑖𝑛 ?
Solution: We know that
𝑒𝐾
(𝑝𝑑)𝑚𝑖𝑛 =
𝐴
𝐾 = ln(1 + 1/𝛾)
𝑒
(𝑝𝑑)𝑚𝑖𝑛 = ln(1 + 1/𝛾)
𝐴
Substituting the values, we have
2.718 1
(𝑝𝑑)𝑚𝑖𝑛 = ln 1 + = 0.89
12 0.02
𝐵 368
𝑉𝑏 𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝑒𝐾 = × 2.718𝑙𝑛51 = 325 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠
𝐴 12

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 98

 Penning Effect
❑ Paschen’s law is not applicable in many gaseous
mixtures. The exceptional example is the Neon–Argon
(Ne-A) mixture.
❑ A small admixture of argon in neon reduces the
breakdown strength below that of pure argon or neon
as shown in Fig. 10.
❑ The reason for this lowering in the breakdown voltage
is that the lowest excited state of neon is metastable
and its excitation potential (16eV) is about 0.9 eV
greater than the ionization potential of argon.
Frans Michel Penning (1894 –
❑ The metastable atoms have a long life in neon gas, and 1953) a Dutch
on hitting argon atoms there is a very high probability of experimental physicist
ionizing them.
❑ The phenomenon is known as the Penning effect.
High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 99
 Penning Effect

Figure 10 Breakdown voltage curves in neon-argon mixtures between parallel plates at

2cm spacing at 0° 𝐶

High Voltage Engineering (18EL) Chapter 1 By Dr Suhail Khokhar 100