Design And Performance Of A One-half Mv Rep-rate Pulser

A rep-rate pulser system is under development for use as an Army user facility. This pulser is entering its final stages of testing prior to delivery. This paper presents results which show the pulser's performance demonstrated to date and describes future upgrades now in progress. The pulser system contains a power supply which energizes a resonant charging circuit which charges a PFN to 1 MV. This power supply can provide up to 300 kW in one second bursts to the pulser. The output of the power unit charges the pulser's 10.5 /spl mu/F primary capacitor bank to 80 kV in 5 ms. This bank is then discharged into the primary of a 1:13.5 iron-core pulse transformer. The transformer's core is reset by the charging current to the 10.2 /spl mu/F capacitor bank. A pair of low inductance, simultaneously triggered gas switches discharges the capacitors into the primary winding of the transformer. The transformer secondary resonant-charges a 5 /spl Omega/ PFN to 1 MV in 7 /spl mu/s. The stored PFN energy is thus 28 kJ. A single self- breaking output switch discharges the PFN into a low inductance 5 /spl Omega/ load resistor. The pulser section, extending from the primary capacitors to the resistive dummy load is contained within an oil tank. The pulser was tested in single pulse and low rep-rates. The specified 500 kV load voltage was achieved without breakdown or corona. A 10 to 90% risetime of approximately 30 ns was obtained. The pulsewidth of the flat-top, a critical parameter for this pulser, was 450 ns (within an amplitude range /spl plusmn/5% of peak) . The pulser and power sections are interfaced to a Macintosh Ilcx computer. This computer accepts commands while operating under the LabVIEW software system which allows the pre-setting of all required pulser settings, including rep-rate, number of shots, burst width and the amplitude and timing of voltages and currents within the power unit. The LabVIEW control program also incorporates fault detection and display routines.