It might be interesting to study the possibilities of a standard car Xenon-light controllers as a starting point for hobbyists.
Here is a quite clear description of the controller operating principle. Especially fig.3 tells the whole story of the operation:
http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/appnotes/01372a.pdf
There are probably quite many technical details to be modified and questions to be answered:
- from AC to DC, rectification is needed
- how to modify the circuit to deliver lower final voltage (probably much lower than the typical 83-85 V, at least if we believe Rossi ) ?
- is 0.4 A enough for operation ?
- does anyone know the required voltage as a function of gas mixture and pressure, also anode-cathode distance ?
Anyway the controller includes already the ignition sequence with the high voltage, 25 kV
+ negative resistance area current regulation