MICROSTACK INSULATOR FOR HIGH VOLTAGE PULSED SYSTEMS

POLYMERIC OR CERAMIC INSULATORS CONVENTIONALLY ARE BEING USED IN HIGH VOLTAGE PULSED SYSTEMS. NEW APPROACHES ARE NEEDED THAT WOULD REDUCE INSULATORS RING THICKNESSES AND INCREASE CORRESPONDING GRADING RINGS FLASHOVER VOLTAGE. SUCH AN APPROACH WOULD POSSESS IN COMPARISON TO CONVENTIONAL INSULATORS: HIGHER SURFACE FLASHOVER FIELD STRENGTH; SMALLER PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS FOR EQUIVALENT VOLTAGE HOLDOFF; LESS WEIGHT; AND LESS INDUCTANCE SO THAT MORE POWER CAN BE TRANSMITTED. A HIGH VOLTAGE INSULATOR PROTOTYPE IS BEING DESIGNED BASED ON THIS APPROACH. A MARX GENERATOR (1MV, 200KA, 150NS) IS BEING CONSTRUCTED TO ENABLE A PRELIMINARY TEST OF THE PROTOTYPE INSULATOR STACK. SHOULDTHIS CONCEPT PROVE VIABLE FOR INSULATOR TECHNOLOGY, INSULATORS THAT CAN WITHSTAND FIELD GRADIENTS OF APPROXIMATELY 100 MV/M COULD BE PRODUCED AND EFFECTIVELY REDUCE THE DIMENSIONS OF ELECTRON (AND ION) ACCELERATOR TECHNOLOGY.