Inventors:
John D. Shipman - Alexandria VA
Bernard L. Wexler - Arlington VA
Assignee:
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy - Washington DC
International Classification:
H01S 3097
Abstract:
Four broad metal vanes form two pairs of contoured metal sheets arranged symmetrically about orthogonal planes of a discharge device to provide a uniform and properly shaped electric field for a discharge region between opposed slab electrodes situated between upper and lower pairs of the vanes in proximity to electrode edges. The electrodes border the region inside a housing having dielectric wall portions interposed between broad surface portions of the vanes and the discharge region located intermediate the electrodes. The electric field is delineated by the vanes so as to inhibit discharge tracking on the wall portions bounding the discharge region.