Voltage-Stabilizing Device

a two-electrode gas-discharge or semiconductor device whose voltage experiences only an insignificant change with a change (within certain limits) of current. Devices of this type, used to maintain a constant voltage in a given segment of an electric circuit, can be found in voltage stabilizers of either the parametric or compensating type, as well as in pulse devices and voltage limiters. The coefficient of voltage stabilization K, which characterizes the relative voltage change at the input and output of a circuit segment [K = (∆U_in/U_in): (∆U_out/U_out)], is determined by the shape of the device’s volt-ampere characteristic and by the resistance of the ballast resistor R_b. The flatter the characteristic, the stronger the stabilizing effect.

The operation of a gas-discharge voltage-stabilizing device is based on the properties of glow discharge and corona discharge. Glow-discharge devices are designed as coaxial or plane-parallel electrode systems in a tube filled with an inert gas at a pressure of several kilonewtons per sq m (kN/m²). The stabilized voltages range from 60 to 150 volts (V), and the operating range of currents is 5–40 milliamperes (mA). Corona-discharge voltage-stabilizing devices are usually designed as a coaxial electrode system in which the radius of the anode is smaller than that of the cathode (ratio of radii, approximately 5–10). The tube is filled with a gas (hydrogen) at a relatively high pressure—from several kN/m² to pressures in excess of atmospheric (100 kN/m²). Corona-discharge devices are suitable for stabilizing high voltages (~3 × 10² to 3 × 10⁴ V) at low currents (~10^–2 to 1–1.5 mA).