阅读说明：本技术 真空电容器 (Vacuum capacitor ) 是由 W·比格勒 于 2021-02-16 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种真空电容器(1,30),包括：容纳真空介电介质的壳体(9)、被所述真空介电介质分隔的第一电极(12)和第二电极(13),该壳体(9)包括与第一电极(12)电接触的第一传导轴环(2)和与第二电极(13)电接触的第二传导轴环,该第一传导轴环(2)和第二传导轴环(3)被壳体(9)的绝缘元件(4)分隔,其中该壳体(9)显示出至少一个突出边缘(6),所述突出边缘(6)与最接近的第一传导轴环(2)或第二传导轴环(3)电接触,其中该真空电容器(1,30)包括至少一个保护装置(7,37),所述至少一个保护装置在真空壳体的外部覆盖突出边缘(6),其中该保护装置(7,37)至少部分地由弹性体制成,其中该保护装置(7,37)的至少外表面(7b,37b)是导电的并且与最接近所述突出边缘(6)的传导轴环处于相同的电势,并且其中该保护装置(7,37)的外表面(7b,37b)的曲率半径大于所述突出边缘(6)的曲率半径。(The invention relates to a vacuum capacitor (1, 30) comprising: a housing (9) containing a vacuum dielectric medium, a first electrode (12) and a second electrode (13) separated by said vacuum dielectric medium, the housing (9) comprising a first conductive collar (2) in electrical contact with the first electrode (12) and a second conductive collar in electrical contact with the second electrode (13), the first conductive collar (2) and the second conductive collar (3) being separated by an insulating element (4) of the housing (9), wherein the housing (9) exhibits at least one protruding edge (6), said protruding edge (6) being in electrical contact with the closest first conductive collar (2) or second conductive collar (3), wherein the vacuum capacitor (1, 30) comprises at least one protective means (7, 37) covering the protruding edge (6) at the outside of the vacuum housing, wherein the protective means (7, 37) is at least partially made of an elastomer, wherein at least the outer surface (7b, 37b) of the protection device (7, 37) is electrically conductive and at the same electrical potential as the conductive collar closest to the protruding edge (6), and wherein the radius of curvature of the outer surface (7b, 37b) of the protection device (7, 37) is larger than the radius of curvature of the protruding edge (6).)

1. Vacuum capacitor (1, 30) comprising: a housing (9) for containing a vacuum dielectric medium, a first electrode (12) and a second electrode (13) separated by the vacuum dielectric medium, the housing (9) comprising a first conductive collar (2) in electrical contact with the first electrode (12) and a second conductive collar (3) in electrical contact with the second electrode (13), the first conductive collar (2) and the second conductive collar (3) being separated by an insulating element (4) of the housing (9), wherein the housing (9) exhibits at least one protruding edge (6), the protruding edge (6) being in electrical contact with the closest first conductive collar (2) or second conductive collar (3),

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

the vacuum capacitor (1, 30) comprises at least one protective means (7, 37) covering the protruding edge (6) outside the vacuum housing, wherein the protective means (7, 37) is at least partly made of an elastomer, wherein at least an outer surface (7b, 37b) of the protective means (7, 37) is electrically conductive and at the same electrical potential as a conductive collar closest to the protruding edge (6), and wherein the outer surface (7b, 37b) of the protective means (7, 37) has a radius of curvature which is larger than the radius of curvature of the protruding edge (6).

2. Vacuum capacitor (1, 30) according to claim 1, wherein the radius of curvature of the outer surface of the protection means (7, 37) is at least 1mm large, advantageously at least 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 7mm, 8mm, 9mm or 10 mm.

3. Vacuum capacitor (1, 30) according to any of claims 1 or 2, comprising two protruding edges (6), each protruding edge (6) being covered by a protection means (7, 37).

4. Vacuum capacitor (1, 30) according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the protruding edge (6) is substantially circular and the protection means (7, 37) is in the form of a ring.

5. Vacuum capacitor (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the protection device (7) has a circular or elliptical cross-section.

6. Vacuum capacitor (30) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the protection means has a cross-section that is substantially semi-conical, with the tip (37d) of the cone oriented towards the nearest conductive collar and the base (37c) of the cone oriented towards the insulating element (4) of the housing (9).

7. Vacuum capacitor (1, 30) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the protection means (7, 37) comprises a recess (7a, 37a) to accommodate the protruding edge (6) covered by the protection means (7, 37).

8. Vacuum capacitor (1, 30) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the outer surface of the protection means (7, 37) and the outer surface of the insulating element (4) of the housing (9) are in contact and form an angle smaller than or equal to 90 °.

9. Vacuum capacitor (1, 30) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the protection device (7, 37) is at least partly made of a non-flammable material, which is classified based on one of the V1 or V0 classifications in the UL94 standard of 2013.

10. Vacuum capacitor (1, 30) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the protection means (7, 37) is made of an insulating material coated with an electrically conductive material.

11. Vacuum capacitor (1) according to claim 10, wherein the protection means (7, 37) is coated with aluminium or silver.

12. Vacuum capacitor (1, 30) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the protection means (7, 37) is at least partially made of a compound that combines an elastomeric matrix, such as a polytetrafluoroethylene elastomer, a silicone elastomer or an ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer, and a conductive matrix filler, such as a powder comprising nickel and/or graphite particles.

13. Vacuum capacitor (1, 30) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the protection device (7, 37) is attached to the housing by means of an adhesive.

14. Vacuum capacitor (1, 30) according to claim 13, wherein the adhesive is electrically conductive.

15. Vacuum capacitor (1, 30) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the capacitor is a variable vacuum capacitor or a fixed vacuum capacitor.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of vacuum capacitors. More particularly, the present invention relates to a vacuum capacitor including a protection device that prevents discharge between a protrusion of a case of the vacuum capacitor and a nearby component. Furthermore, the protection device is arranged such that the vacuum housing of the capacitor is protected against mechanical shocks, thereby preventing deformation or damage of the housing during transport or in the subsequent harsh operating environment.

Background

Vacuum capacitors are known in the art and are used in applications requiring high frequencies and high power. For example, common applications include: oscillator circuits used in high power radio frequency transmission, and high frequency power supplies used in the manufacture of semiconductors, solar panels, and flat panel displays.

A capacitor includes two or more conductive surfaces, commonly referred to as electrodes, separated by a dielectric medium (see fig. 1). In the case of a vacuum capacitor, the dielectric medium is a vacuum. Vacuum capacitors typically require a high vacuum (less than 10 a)^-6Torr) or ultra-high vacuum (less than 10)^-9Torr). The vacuum is maintained within an airtight enclosure, also referred to in this application as a housing. A typical enclosure may include an insulating element, often a ceramic cylinder, tightly connected with a metal collar to ensure a hermetic seal so that the capacitor can maintain a high vacuum inside the housing over the operating life. The capacitance generating surfaces (i.e. the electrodes of the capacitor) are arranged opposite each other inside the housing and, thanks to the good properties of the vacuum dielectric, allow the vacuum capacitor to be used inUsed at high voltages, typically in the kilovolt range or tens of kilovolt range, and occupy a relatively modest volume. To this end, the electrode surfaces may be arranged as alternating concentric cylinders or interleaved spirals, thereby making full use of the available space within the vacuum housing, but can also have other shapes per se. Each electrode (or more precisely each set of capacitance generating surfaces) inside the capacitor is in electrical contact with one metal collar of the outer shell and is insulated from the other electrode and the other collar by a dielectric vacuum medium and an insulating element of the capacitor casing. The collar described above may also comprise alloys or other materials as long as the conductivity is suitable. The collar provides the possibility of connection in order to integrate the vacuum capacitor with other circuit elements of the high power delivery system. Typically, several vacuum capacitors (along with one or more coils) are integrated in an impedance matching box.

Vacuum capacitors fall into two main categories: a vacuum capacitor having a fixed capacitance, wherein the geometric relationship between the electrodes remains unchanged; and variable capacitors in which the shape, orientation and/or spacing of one or both electrodes can be varied, thereby varying the capacitance of the device. For example, a bellows arrangement may be used, or a magnet and coil, or other arrangement that allows one of the electrodes to move relative to the other electrode.

As described above, vacuum capacitors are commonly used in applications in the semiconductor industry, such as plasma coating processes and etching processes, particularly those using 27.12MHz, 13.56MHz, 6.78MHz power or other radio frequency power sources. Vacuum capacitors are very commonly used as tuning elements and are integrated inside an impedance matching box or other equipment, ensuring an optimal transmission power from a radio frequency generator (having an output impedance of 50 ohms) to a plasma processing chamber with a dynamic load (i.e., a varying impedance). It is desirable to be able to use these impedance matching boxes with higher and higher power, resulting in higher operating voltages. Since higher power must be achieved without increasing the size of the capacitor or the size of the equipment in which the capacitor is placed, the power density must be increased. This trend is further exacerbated by the more frequent occurrence of power delivery at frequencies below 6.78MHz and even below 4MHz, even when vacuum capacitors are used for power applications of the same power rating, resulting in higher voltages in the vacuum capacitors due to their higher impedance at these frequencies.

Intermediate to the necessity of increasing power density, it was therefore the original way to construct the capacitor such that the possibility of arcing or any other form of unwanted current flow between the capacitor and the components surrounding the capacitor was minimized. Arcing (also known as uncontrolled discharge, corona discharge, or dielectric breakdown) occurs when any point in the electric field between the capacitor and another electrically conductive component exceeds a certain breakdown value. This breakdown value depends on a combination of parameters including: the applied voltage difference, the vacuum depth inside the capacitor, the gap distance between the capacitor and the component (at their point of closest proximity to each other), the composition of the air surrounding the vacuum capacitor (e.g., moisture content), and the physical and electrical characteristics of the capacitor.

The field strength of a vacuum capacitor refers to the maximum permitted electric field that can be achieved without such uncontrolled discharge. The field strength ultimately limits the operating voltage of the capacitor for a given electrode spacing. Achieving as high a field strength as possible in the device is advantageous, because an increase in field strength allows vacuum capacitors with a specific geometry to be used for high power applications. Alternatively, the geometry (size) of a high field strength vacuum capacitor can be made smaller than the geometry of a capacitor with a lower field strength for a given applied voltage.

Until recently, the limiting factor for vacuum capacitor field strength was generally given by the vacuum breakdown between the electrodes of the capacitor. Today, this problem has been greatly reduced, and the limiting factor is often the breakdown between the capacitor and the components surrounding the capacitor. This is particularly problematic when power density must be increased and impedance matching boxes or other power delivery equipment must maintain the same physical dimensions.

Since the manufacturing process of vacuum capacitors involves tightly connecting an insulating element, such as a ceramic cylinder, with a conductive element of the housing, called the collar, which extends further in the radial direction than the collar, a step is formed at the transition between the collar and the insulating (ceramic) element. Since the ceramic and collar are typically brazed together, the braze filler material is able to flow when the liquidus temperature is reached during brazing, and the steps described above are eventually coated with the conductive material. This is problematic because the protrusion of these steps can therefore generate very high electric fields. This effect is known as field enhancement; the sharper the protrusions, the stronger the electric field at these protrusions and the higher the risk of corona discharge. Thus, unwanted discharges between the vacuum capacitor and nearby components can occur between these protruding edges and these components.

To circumvent this problem, it is proposed to place a so-called corona ring above or close to the protrusion. The function of these rings is to "shield" the protrusions and reduce the risk of corona discharge. The corona rings of vacuum capacitors known in the art are either bulk metal rings or metal sheets shaped as rings. These block-shaped or shaped metal corona rings known in the art are heavy, expensive to manufacture and above all inflexible, which leads to problems when mounting them on the edge of the vacuum capacitor case. An embodiment of such a vacuum capacitor is described in patent application US 2511338A, which discloses a vacuum capacitor with a corona protection arrangement on the outside of the capacitor. These vacuum capacitors, as well as the corona devices of other prior art vacuum capacitors, are entirely metallic, which in addition to protecting the capacitor from damage due to the corona discharge process does not allow to protect the capacitor from mechanical damage.

Patent application US 3270259 a relates to the problem of preventing corona discharge inside the vacuum housing of a vacuum capacitor. The protection means arranged inside such a housing cannot prevent damage due to mechanical impact with objects outside the vacuum, and must be made of vacuum compatible materials.

Chinese patent application CN105185587A relates to a DC blocking capacitor in which two plate-like electrodes are separated by a teflon cylindrical wall with an arc-shaped edge in order to prevent corona discharge. While the cylindrical wall form prevents corona discharge, it does not prevent mechanical damage.

Russian patent application SU 1667166 a1 relates to a vacuum capacitor comprising an attachment between a vacuum housing and an electrode. However, these devices have a radius of curvature that is smaller than the radius of curvature of the protruding edge of the vacuum housing, with the result that if the devices are electrically conductive, they will facilitate the formation of the corona discharge process, rather than prevent it.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to propose a new type of vacuum capacitor which substantially reduces the risk of corona discharge while providing mechanical protection for the housing of the vacuum capacitor.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore part of the present invention to propose a new type of vacuum capacitor by means of which the disadvantages of the known systems described above can be completely overcome or at least substantially reduced.

In particular, an element of the present invention is to propose a vacuum capacitor comprising a protection device that makes it possible to reduce the risk of mechanical damage to the vacuum housing of the capacitor while reducing the risk of corona discharges occurring between the capacitor and components placed in the vicinity.

According to the invention, said part is achieved in particular by the elements of the independent claims. Further advantageous embodiments emerge from the dependent claims and the description.

In particular, the object of the invention is achieved by a vacuum capacitor comprising: a housing for containing a vacuum dielectric medium, a first electrode and a second electrode separated by the vacuum dielectric medium, the housing comprising a first conductive collar in electrical contact with the first electrode and a second conductive collar in electrical contact with the second electrode, the first and second conductive collars being separated by an insulating element of the housing, wherein the housing exhibits at least one protruding edge in electrical contact with the nearest first or second conductive collar, wherein the vacuum capacitor comprises at least one protective means covering the protruding edge on the outside of the vacuum housing, wherein the protective means is at least partially made of an elastomer, wherein at least the outer surface of the protective means is electrically conductive and at the same electrical potential as the conductive collar nearest the protruding edge, wherein the outer surface of the protective device has a radius of curvature that is greater than the radius of curvature of the protruding edge.

Thanks to such a vacuum capacitor, in particular to the protection means, the electric field at the protruding edges can be reduced. By selecting the exact shape and size of the protection device depending on the situation in which the vacuum capacitor is used, the risk of corona discharge between the vacuum capacitor and nearby components may be reduced or even eliminated. Furthermore, thanks to the deformability of the protection means, the protection means provide mechanical protection for the vacuum capacitor against mechanical shocks. This deformability also allows the protection device to be better adapted to the edges of the vacuum capacitor. Such a protection device is also helpful, since it can adapt to irregularities in the shape of the insulating element of the housing. This is particularly advantageous in case the insulating element is a sintered ceramic element, since sintered ceramics are difficult to manufacture with precise dimensional tolerances. Furthermore, it is advantageous to provide said protection means which are detachable from and re-attachable to the protruding edge which it is intended to cover and protect. A protection device having the best possible dimensions for the specific application of the capacitor can then be selected and mounted on the protruding edge to be protected. Examples of suitable elastomers are polytetrafluoroethylene elastomers, silicone elastomers, or ethylene-propylene-diene-monomers.

In a first preferred embodiment of the invention, the radius of curvature of the outer surface of the protection device is at least 1mm large, advantageously at least 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 7mm, 8mm, 9mm or 10 mm. This ensures that the electric field strength is below a threshold value, which corresponds to a value at which the risk of corona discharge is high.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the vacuum capacitor comprises two protruding edges, each covered by a protective means. Thereby, a vacuum capacitor having a common shape can be provided, while each protruding edge is covered by the protection means.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the protruding edge is substantially circular and the protection means is in the form of a ring. This allows providing a vacuum capacitor whose housing is substantially in the form of a cylinder. For high frequency signal (including high frequency power signal) transmission, cylinder symmetry is generally preferred.

In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the protective means has a circular or elliptical cross-section. Hereby it is ensured that the cross section of the protection means is in a form that allows to effectively reduce the risk of corona discharge.

In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the protective means has a substantially semi-conical cross-section, wherein the tip of the cone is oriented towards the nearest conductive collar and the base is oriented towards the insulating element of the housing. By means of this shape, the protection device can be easily fitted on the vacuum capacitor by means of a contact surface along the extension of the metal collar.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the protection means comprise a recess for receiving a protruding edge covered by the protection means. Whereby said protruding edge can be accommodated inside the protective means. This allows in particular to obtain a space-saving vacuum capacitor. Furthermore, by providing a groove, the protruding edge can be covered effectively.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the outer surface of the protection device and the outer surface of the insulating element of the housing are in contact and form an angle of less than or equal to 90 °. Whereby, at a position where the protection device is in contact with the insulating element of the housing, the generated electric field is less than a threshold value for generating a corona discharge.

In yet another preferred version of the invention, the protection device is at least partially made of a non-flammable material classified based on one of the V1 or V0 classifications in the 2013 UL94 standard. This ensures that no flame is generated and maintained on the protection device without the necessity of a corona discharge.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the protection means is made of an insulating material coated with a conductive material. This allows an effective protection means to be provided in a simple manner.

In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the protective means is coated with aluminum or silver. This allows to ensure that the outer surface of the protection device is conductive.

In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the protection device is made of a material that is capable of being repeatedly cycled between room temperature and 150 ℃ without aging. This has the advantage of allowing a long service life of the vacuum capacitor, since the vacuum capacitor can be heated to about 125-145 ℃ during high power operation.

In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the protective means is made at least in part of a compound that incorporates an elastomeric matrix, such as polytetrafluoroethylene elastomer, silicone elastomer or ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer (EPDM), and a conductive matrix filler, such as a powder comprising nickel and/or graphite particles. This has the advantage that a long life performance is ensured even if the capacitor is operated in an oxidizing environment. An additional advantage of such a protection device compared to a coated protection device is that there is no risk of delamination of the coating during the thermal cycle.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the protective means is attached to the housing by means of an adhesive. Thereby, it can be ensured that the protection device does not fall off from the vacuum capacitor.

In yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the adhesive is electrically conductive. This allows to electrically contact the outer surface of the protection device with the closest collar in a simple and effective manner.

In yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the capacitor is a variable vacuum capacitor or a fixed vacuum capacitor. The variable capacitor has the advantage that the capacitance of the variable capacitor can be adjusted by adjusting the distance between the electrodes or by adjusting the degree of coincidence of the electrode surfaces inside the vacuum dielectric medium.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a vacuum capacitor known in the prior art;

fig. 2 is a sectional view of a first preferred embodiment of a vacuum capacitor according to the present invention;

fig. 2a is a detailed sectional view of a protection device of a vacuum capacitor according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a sectional view of a second preferred embodiment of a vacuum capacitor according to the present invention; and

fig. 3a is a detailed sectional view of a protection device of a vacuum capacitor according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a state of the art vacuum capacitor 20. This vacuum capacitor includes: a housing 9 for containing a vacuum dielectric medium 16; the housing comprises a first conductive collar 2 and a second conductive collar 3 (here in the form of a metal collar) separated by an insulating element 4 of a housing 9. Typically, the insulating element 4 is made of a ceramic material in the shape of a cylinder. Due to the manufacturing process and in particular to the requirements related to the connection (e.g. by brazing the insulating element 4 to the metal collar 2, 3), the insulating element 4 extends further in the radial direction than the collar. The insulating element 4 thus exhibits at least one projecting edge 6, in the case of fig. 1 two projecting edges 6. As mentioned above, the insulating element 4 must be bonded to the collars 2, 3 such that the surface of the insulating element 4 perpendicular to the collars is eventually covered by an electrically conductive brazing material. The electrical connection 6a formed between this solder material and the collar 2, 3 and the protruding edge 6, when the vacuum capacitor is used, generates a very high electric field at the protruding edge 6. This very high electric field is one of the sources of failure for high voltage applications of vacuum capacitors, since corona discharge can occur between the vacuum capacitor and the components near the protruding edge 6. Fig. 1 also shows capacitance generating surfaces, i.e. electrodes 12, 13 located inside the vacuum dielectric 16 and in electrical contact with the conductive collar 2 and the conductive collar 3, respectively. As shown in fig. 1, the vacuum capacitor may be a variable vacuum capacitor with an adjustable electrode 12 that is adjusted using a moving mechanism 14 and an extendable bellows 15.

Fig. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a first preferred embodiment of a vacuum capacitor 1 according to the present invention. Similar to the vacuum capacitor 20 known in the art, the vacuum capacitor 1 comprises a housing 9 comprising a first conductive collar 2, a second conductive collar 3 separated by an insulating element 4 of the housing 9. In order to circumvent the above-described problem of generating a high electric field at the protruding edge 6, the vacuum capacitor 1 comprises a protection 7 covering the edge 6. Advantageously, each protection 7 is provided with a recess 7a in order to house the protruding edge covered by the protection (see fig. 2 a). Furthermore, the protection 7 is advantageously in the form of a ring. This is helpful because the shape of the protruding edge of a common vacuum capacitor is circular. For example, the cross-section of the protection 7 (e.g. in the form of a ring) may be circular or elliptical. The skilled person will readily understand that the cross-section of the protection means 7 may have other shapes depending on the shape of the rim and the configuration of the vacuum capacitor 1, in particular depending on the configuration of the collars 2, 3 and the insulating element 4 of the housing 9. It is important that at least the outer surface 7b of the protection device is electrically conductive and that the protection device is in contact with the closest first collar 2 or second collar 3. For the purpose of reducing the electric field, the radius of curvature of the outer surface 7b of the protection 7 must be greater than the radius of curvature defined by the protruding edge covered by the protection. However, it is important not only to make the radius of curvature of the outer surface 7b larger on a macroscopic scale than the radius of curvature of the protruding edge 6, but also to make the outer surface of the protection device sufficiently smooth that it does not show microscopic protrusions having a radius of curvature smaller than the protruding edge. Surface irregularities in the form of microscopic protrusions, or particles or particle agglomerates (columns) present on the surface, promote the onset of voltage breakdown, as the protrusions or agglomerates provide sites for electrons to be more easily ejected by field emission and/or sites for enabling ionization and subsequent acceleration initiation of adsorbed particles. Both of these effects can cause charge "avalanche" that passes in an uncontrolled manner through the medium between the vacuum capacitor and nearby components.

Fig. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a second preferred embodiment of a vacuum capacitor 30 according to the present invention. The vacuum capacitor 30 comprises a protection means 37 covering the rim 6, said protection means 37 being shown in a slightly different form than the protection means 7, and said vacuum capacitor 30 being otherwise identical to the vacuum capacitor 1. In this embodiment, the extended shape of the protector 37 along the surface of the collar 2 advantageously allows easier fixing of the protector 37, since said extended shape provides a larger area, for example for using metal glue, in order to keep the protector in place. As shown in fig. 3a, the cross-section of the protector in this embodiment is substantially semi-conical, with the tip 37d of the cone oriented towards the nearest metal collar and the base 37c oriented towards the insulating element of the housing. It can be seen that the base 37c of the semi-conical surface 37b is not perfectly planar but is provided with an angle of curvature so as to additionally resist field breakdown occurring along the insulating element surface of the housing towards the opposite metal collar 3.

According to the invention, the protective device 7, 37 is at least partially made of an elastically deformable material, advantageously an elastomer. This allows to protect the housing 4 against mechanical shocks. This is particularly advantageous when the insulating element 4 of the housing 9 is made of a relatively brittle ceramic material. The protection means 7, 37 thus have two functions; the first is to reduce the electric field strength and thus minimize the risk of corona discharge occurring between the vacuum capacitor 1 and components placed nearby, while the second is to protect the vacuum capacitor 1, and in particular the protective housing 9, against mechanical impact. It is to be noted that the deformability of the protection means 7, 37 not only contributes to provide mechanical protection, but it also provides a simple assembly of the protection means 7, 37 on the edge 6. Since the manufacturing process of the insulating element 4 is usually done by sintering or other processes involving significant temperature variations, the dimensions of the insulating element cannot be reproduced accurately. The advantage of a protection device made of elastomer is therefore to make it possible to adapt it to these irregularities in the shape of the insulating element 4. Furthermore, the deformability and elasticity of the elastomer of the protective device 7, 37 can also have the following advantages: enabling the protective means 7, 37 to be self-retaining on the insulating element 4. The protection means may alternatively or additionally (for example by using an adhesive, advantageously by using a conductive adhesive) be attached to the insulating element 4 or to other elements of the housing 9. The conductive adhesive enables simple electrical connection between the electrode and the outer surface 7b of the protector 7 and between the electrode and the outer surface 37b of the protector 37.

Finally, it should be noted that the foregoing has outlined two related non-limiting embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications can be made to the disclosed non-limiting embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed non-limiting embodiments. Accordingly, the described non-limiting embodiments should be considered to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications. Other beneficial results can be achieved by applying the non-limiting embodiment in a different manner or modifying the non-limiting embodiment in a manner known to those skilled in the art. It is important to note that it is not possible to describe all embodiments herein, and in particular to describe all shapes of the protection device that result in a reduction of the electric field strength. However, the person skilled in the art will know how to adapt the shape of the protection device to the shape of the vacuum capacitor and to the exact situation in which the capacitor is used. For example, in case the space between the capacitor and the closest component is particularly limited in one direction, it is advantageous that the protection has an elongated shape pointing in the other direction. This ensures that the electric field between the outer surface of the protection device and this nearest component is below a critical value. It is also important to note that the protection means covering different edges of the vacuum capacitor may have different shapes. Finally, even though the vacuum capacitors proposed in the preferred embodiments are all variable vacuum capacitors, the invention also relates to a fixed vacuum capacitor with a protection means covering the protruding edge of the housing.