A semiconductor opening switch based generator with pulse repetitive frequency of 4 MHz

Abstract

A MHz repetitive and nanosecond pulsed power generator based on the semiconductor opening switch (SOS) is developed, in which the pulse compression unit utilizes several Radio Frequency (RF) MOSFETs and a saturable Linear Transformer Driver (LTD). The RF MOSFETs are employed to obtain the forward pumping current pulses with the duration of tens of nanoseconds; the saturable LTD is used to raise the pulse voltage, to compress the pulse width and to pump SOS reversely. The SOS assembly cuts off the reverse current in a few nanoseconds, leading to a narrow output pulse on an external load. The experimental results show that the amplitude of the output pulse on a 106 Ω resistive load is about 3.8 kV and the width is 2 ns. Due to the repetitive ability of the RF MOSFETs, the generator can operate at a repetitive frequency of higher than 4 MHz in burst mode.