A High-Power Semiconductor-Magnetic Pulse-Generator Circuit
Abstract:
A circuit for generating high-power, high-voltage pulse trains is described that uses silicon controlled rectifiers for high-current, low-voltage power switching, and inductors and transformers having saturable-magnetic cores for high-voltage, high-speed switching. Figures of merit for saturable-inductor switches and a measure of power-switching capacity for controlled rectifiers are determined which provide a characterization of these devices that is especially useful for design purposes. A step-by-step circuit-design procedure is presented that is flexible enough so that selected performance attributes (such as smallest size and weight, or highest efficiency) can be emphasized by the designer. A laboratory breadboard semiconductor-magnetic pulse generator producing 1700 average watts in 1.6-microsecond pulses of over 1 megawatt peak power is described as an illustration of the circuit technique.