Experimental and Analytical Performance of a Pulsed Power Transformer

Abstract

The performance of a pulsed power transformer was investigated theoretically and experimentally at the Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University. The pulsed power transformer is a 10:1 step-down transformer. The transformer can decrease the characteristic impedance of the pulsed power machine and the parasitic inductance at the water/vacuum surface. In experiments, a high current pulse (∼1 MA) was obtained. This value was twice as high that obtained when no transformer was used. According to the prototype transformer experiments, the geometry of the secondary coil is of key importance in the design of the transformer. The radiation power (>100 eV) from it was determined to be 20 GW with a 40-ns pulse duration, and the total radiant energy was estimated to be 800 J. According to these experiments and numerical analysis, it is necessary to change the number of turns of the secondary coils to 4 to obtain higher energy efficiency.