A 12 kV solid state high voltage pulse generator for a bench top PEF machine

High voltage pulsed electric field (PEF) is increasingly used for nonthermal food processes. This paper presents a design of an IGBT based 12 kV solid state high voltage pulse generator. A simple main circuit topology is employed in this pulse generator to reduce the cost and meanwhile still to meet specified requirements for PEF food processing. Intelligent IGBT modules, rated 1200 V and 1200 A, are used as power switches in the inverter circuit. A sophisticated grounding system is implemented to solve EMI caused by high integration of the equipment. In order to shape output pulse voltage wave, a dedicated DC bus for the inverter is developed to minimize stray inductance in the current loops. Experimental results are shown in this paper.