Breakdown voltage of metal-oxide resistors in liquid argon

TL;DR

This study measures the breakdown voltage of metal-oxide resistors in liquid argon, revealing higher breakdown thresholds than in air and identifying various failure modes, which is crucial for high-voltage applications in cryogenic environments.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed characterization of resistor breakdown behavior in liquid argon, including failure modes and voltage thresholds, relevant for cryogenic high-voltage systems.

Findings

Resistors have higher breakdown voltages in liquid argon than in air.

Failure modes include destruction and coating damage.

One resistor type withstands up to 131 kV pulses.

Abstract

We characterized a sample of metal-oxide resistors and measured their breakdown voltage in liquid argon by applying high voltage (HV) pulses over a 3 second period. This test mimics the situation in a HV-divider chain when a breakdown occurs and the voltage across resistors rapidly rise from the static value to much higher values. All resistors had higher breakdown voltages in liquid argon than their vendor ratings in air at room temperature. Failure modes range from full destruction to coating damage. In cases where breakdown was not catastrophic, subsequent breakdown voltages were lower in subsequent measuring runs. One resistor type withstands 131\,kV pulses, the limit of the test setup.