A Novel Compact Repetitive Frequency Square-Wave Generator Based on Coaxial Pulse Forming Lines and Coupled Magnetic Switches

Abstract

In this paper, a novel repetitive frequency square-wave generator named pulse forming line-based repetitive square-wave generator (PFLRSG)-based coaxial pulse forming lines (PFLs) and coupled magnetic switches (MSs) is proposed. The generator is capable of amplitude multiplication, high-frequency operation, and rise-time compression. The operation principle is to charge PFLs in parallel via coupled inductors when MSs are unsaturated and discharge in series when MSs saturate to form square-wave voltage pulses across the matched load, with the common diode arrays as the last stage to sharpen the rise-time. The amplitude of the output pulse is dependent on the charging voltage and impedance matching between the PFLs and the load. The pulsewidth is determined by the transmission time of the PFLs. With the principle, circuit topology of a two-stage PFLRSG is presented. Test stand yields an output square-wave pulse with frequency of 1-10 kHz, amplitude of 8.6 kV, rise-time of 60 ns, and half width of 500 ns into a 150-Ω matched load. Furthermore, design rules are proposed so that topologies of PFLRSGs with stages other than two can be conveniently derived. As an example, a 4-stage PFLRSG is proposed.