Major differences in the design of these new products now allow for a service life one or two orders longer than that of their German and American-made analogs.

Cold cathode thyratrons are referred to in Europe and the USA as pseudospark switches (PSS).

In industry they are used as parts of magnet-pulse, hydro-pulse and laser treatment process installations; in oil production for oil well cleaning equipment; in medicine they are employed for noninvasive pulverization of stones in the urinary tract (lithotripsy); in electrophysics and microelectronics for plasma focus equipment. There are plans for replacing the currently used incandescent cathode thyratrons and cell-type tubes with these new generation devices utilizing the nanosecond duration range (in pumping sources for powerful lasers, gamma-neutron logging, plasma-chemical equipment, etc.)

The creation of the new type of commutators was prompted by the need for advanced technologies in reliable and durable powerful switch-mode supplies, where these units serve as one of the most important components of the circuit. The major requirements for their use are: operating voltage of 10 to 150 kilovolts; switched current of 100 ampere to 200 kiloamðåãå, with commuted charge per impulse reaching several coulombs under the oscillatory discharge of stored energy for mismatched load or output-voltage regulation. At the same time, the smooth operation of process installation requires continuous operation of the units for over 3-6 months. Commutators of conventional design or thyratrons with incandescent cathodes, spark switches, vacuum and monolithic devices are not able to meet all the above requirements. Gas-discharge commutators or spark switches, however, display better characteristics. The main problem for them in fully meeting the above requirements is their short service life (less than 3,000 of total commuted charge over the whole period of service).

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