A solid-state pulsed power generator has been developed. It is based on Blumlein pulse forming network (PFN) combined with saturable pulse transformer (SPT). The primary circuit is switched by a switching unit consisting of three MOS-gated thyristors connected in parallel. The SPT functions both as a transformer to increase the voltage and as a closing switch for the secondary circuit. The PFN on the secondary side is charged by the transformer and switched by the SPT so that a pulsed output is generated on a matched load. In the demonstration experiment using one module, an output with peak voltage of ~10.4 kV and pulsewidth of ~160 ns was obtained on a resistive load of 52 Ω . Furthermore, three identical modules, sharing a common primary circuit, have been connected in series to demonstrate voltage adding, where a peak output voltage of ~30 kV was obtained on a load of 156 Ω with energy efficiency of ~54 %. This pulsed power generator has been tested at repetition rate of 20 kHz in burst mode.

A pulsed-power generator based on the circuit scheme of a linear transformer driver (LTD) while using solid-state switches is referred to as a solid-state LTD (SSLTD). One of the advantages of the SSLTD compared with traditional pulsed-power generators is its flexibility in the output waveform. It has potential applications to atmospheric pressure gas discharge because this kind of discharge load usually exhibits a fast-changing impedance. In this paper, a feedback control system for SSLTDs is reported. It uses a system-on-chip analog-to-digital converter combined with a field programmable gate array. By using this system, our SSLTD has the ability to automatically adjust its output waveform based on the information obtained from the previous pulse. As a result, during repetitive operation, our SSLTD can figure out the right output waveform according to a user scenario and can respond to any variation that may occur on the load.

The low-voltage droop of high-voltage pulses is required to provide stable pulsed electric fields in many applications. Increasing the capacitance of energy storage capacitors increases both the size and the cost of the system. In this paper, four compensation stages based on the resonant circuit have been inserted into a 16-stage solid-state Marx generator to compensate for the voltage droop in different conditions. The nearly linear part of the sinusoidal voltage is precisely added to the load during discharging as compensation, and the rectangular pulsed voltage with little droop can be realized. Different numbers of compensation stages and different resonant inductances can compensate the droop to different levels, which means the compensation effect is also adjustable. Moreover, these compensation stages can operate as common stages in Marx generators as long as we open-circuit the resonant circuits. Since the capacitors in resonant compensation stages are also charged in parallel with capacitors in common stages, no auxiliary power supply is required. Simulating and experimental results show that the droop of a 9 kV pulse can be ideally compensated over a 500 Ω resistive load at various pulse widths. The pulse width should be shorter than the length of the nearly linear part of the sinusoidal voltage.

This study presents a pulse generator employing a saturable pulse transformer (SPT) in conjunction with a fast recovery diode, integrated within an all-solid-state pulse-forming network (PFN). The saturation inductance of the SPT serves as a component of the initial LC section of the PFN, thereby contributing to the preservation of output waveform integrity. The secondary energy storage capacitor is charged through the primary circuit and the SPT, subsequently discharging into the load under the regulation of the SPT. An increase in the SPT’s transformation ratio corresponds to a rise in its saturated inductance, which in turn prolongs the pulse rise time. To mitigate this effect, a fast recovery diode is incorporated to sharpen the pulse front. Specifically, upon saturation of the SPT, current reverses through the fast recovery diode, effectively short-circuiting the load. When the inductor current attains a predetermined threshold, the diode reverts to reverse cut-off and rapidly switches off, enabling the PFN to discharge swiftly into the load and generate a high-voltage pulse characterized by a rapid rising edge. Furthermore, augmenting the number of secondary windings on the SPT—each connected to a PFN module—and arranging multiple PFNs in series facilitates an increase in output voltage. Experimental evaluations demonstrated that a three-stage PFN pulse generator attained a peak voltage of −16.9 kV on an 80 Ω matched load, with pulse currents exceeding 200 A while maintaining a 19 ns front edge. These results indicate that the proposed approach is effective for producing high-voltage, narrow pulses with rapid rise times. Additionally, the pulse power generator is capable of delivering repetitive pulses of −16.9 kV at a frequency of 20 kHz in burst mode.

This research presents an improvement of output voltage rise time by sacrificing energy efficiency in a Marx generator using a saturable pulse transformer (SPT). The aim is to reduce the output rise time, which is defined by the time between 10% and 90% of the peak voltage, and to show the relationship between rise time and efficiency. In this research, a four-stage Marx generator has been used for circuit demonstration. It uses a single primary capacitor to charge four secondary stages in parallel through the SPT. The saturation of the transformer acts as a magnetic switch on each stage so that the capacitors on the secondary side discharge in series to the load. The experimental results have shown that the rise time of the load voltage depends on the timing of the core saturation, and the shortest rise time was obtained under a circuit condition where the transformer saturates before the energy transfer from the primary to the secondary is completed, where the energy efficiency is not optimum. In other words, there exists a tradeoff between the output rise time and the energy efficiency of the pulsed power circuit. This article suggests that the relationship between the rise time and the efficiency is caused by the diodes, which play the role of an opening switch.