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I'm trying to create and maintain plasma inside a vacuum chamber (up to 50 Pa), I have a home-made feedthrough done with an HV BNC sealed with Viton gaskets on a KF50 flange (makes a ≈25 mm gap).

I have a 1-10 kV supply with 5 mA and one low voltage supply with max voltage of 120 V.

My question is, would it be feasible to use the HV supply to ignite the plasma and then use the low voltage supply to maintain it? If so, what circuit should I use to switch the supplies without shutting off the plasma?

winny
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lasb3tas
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    Have a glimpse at HID lamp operating gear (a few were specified for DC). – greybeard Apr 03 '23 at 10:50
  • Thank you for the reply. Do you mean I should use something like a ballast? – lasb3tas Apr 03 '23 at 14:22
  • "The ballast" would be the current limiter in the low voltage PS. The "interesting" part is the ignitor/starter, and how to combine the "ignition supply" with the "arc supply". Arc stability is an interesting can of worms in itself. Include in the question what you already know about the arc you want: DC, HF, of low frequency? Geometry of electrodes and chamber? Voltage, current/power of arc? An off-the-shelf ballast+ignitor would be great if one fits. (under my desk: 1.6 A, 4 kV+ ignition - used it (light and sound) as an alarm during winter back when on a 40h/week schedule.) – greybeard Apr 03 '23 at 14:48

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