High Repetition Rate Pulsed Power Generators

This Phase II proposal outlines an ambitious research and development effort the objectives of which are to provide a high-voltage pulsed power generator that is compact, portable, reliable, exhibits a fast rise or fall time, and is capable of being command fired at a high pulse repetition rate (PRR) with low jitter. Another objective of this effort is to design and realize a feedback control system that can monitor the output voltage of several pulse generator modules and adjust their respective command trigger signals with great precision and low jitter so as to allow precise synchronization of multiple modules. In Phase II we will build upon the success of the Phase I effort to improve the existing pulse generator design to allow for a more compact, lightweight, and scalable pulse generator module with an output voltage of ~+/-100-200 kV, a rise/fall time <1ns, and a PRR of ~1 kHz. New triggering techniques will be developed, studied, and improved in order to minimize the jitter of the entire command fired system. A feedback control system will be developed and used to synchronize two pulse generator modules (one positive and one negative) that will feed a lens-focused impulse-radiating antenna.