Solid-state Pulsed Power Research Articles

Compact and high repetitive pulsed power modulator based on semiconductor switches

This paper describes the design of a compact and highly repetitive pulsed power modulator based on semiconductor switches. Output specifications of the proposed modulator are as follows: variable output pulse voltage, 1-10 kV; width, 1-10 μs; pulse repetition rate (PRR), 1-50,000 pps; and average output power, 10 kW. The proposed solid-state pulsed power modulator has two main parts: an IGBT stack that hasa gate drive circuit for the pulse output with a variable pulse width and repetition rate, and a capacitor charger that has a controllable output voltage. To connect all the storage capacitors in a series for high voltage pulses, a simple and reliable IGBT stack structure was proposed based on the Marx generator. In addition, the gate driver circuit, which supplies power and signals to all the IGBTs simultaneously, was introduced. This providesa superior protection function against the arc and the short. To charge the storage capacitors, a novel 10 kW (10 kV, 1 A) high voltage capacitor charger with the combined advantage of a series-loaded resonant converter and a ZVS (zero-voltage-switching) full-bridge pulse width modulation (PWM) converter was proposed and designed especially for the solid-state pulsed power modulator. Theexperiment results verified that the proposed scheme and structure can be used effectively for a high voltage pulsed power modulator that requires variable voltage, repetition rate, and pulse width, depending on the process of the applications.

펄스 변조 및 전원 스위칭 방법을 혼용한 X-대역 50 W Pulsed SSPA 설계 및 제작

본 논문에서는 레이더 시스템에 적용이 가능한 50 W 출력을 가지는 X-대역 pulsed SSPA(Solid State Power Amplifier)를 설계 및 제작하였다. SSPA를 펄스 모드로 동작시키는 방법으로 펄스 변조 방법과 전원 스위칭 방법을 혼용한 방법을 제안하였다. SSPA는 구동 증폭기, 고출력 증폭기, 펄스 변조기로 구성되며, 충분한 이득과 출력 크기를 얻기 위해 25 W GaAs FET 4개를 병렬 구조로 구성하였다. 측정 결과 1.12 GHz 대역폭에서 출력 50 W, 이득 44.2 dB의 성능을 가졌다. 또한, pulse droop은 1 dB 이하로 설계 목표를 만족하였으며, 12.45 ns 이하의 상승/하강 시간을 가졌다. 제작된 X-대역 pulsed SSPA 크기는 <TEX>$150{\times}105{\times}30\;mm^3$</TEX>로 매우 작은 크기를 가졌다. In this paper, a X-band 50 W pulsed solid state power amplifier(SSPA) is designed and fabricated for radar systems. The SSPA consists of a driver amplifier, a high power amplifier, and a pulse modulator. The high power stage employes four 25 W GaAs FET to deliver 50 W at X-band. To meet the stringent target specification for the SSPA, we used a new hybrid pulse switching method, which combine the advantage of pulse modulation and bias switching method. The fabricated SSPA shows a power gain of 44.2 dB, an output power of 50 W over a 1.12 GHz bandwidth. Also, pulse droop < 1 dB meet the design goals and a rise/fall time is less than 12.45 ns. Fabricated X-band pulsed SSPA size is compact with overall size of <TEX>$150{\times}105{\times}30\;mm^3$</TEX>.

C-BAND PULSED SOLID STATE POWER AMPLIFIER FOR SPACEBORNE APPLICATIONS

The basic applications of pulsed solid state power amplifler are for airborne and spaceborne pulsed Radar and these applications have always demanded well performance over difierent environmental conditions. The success of the electronic systems for these applications relies on the ability to design high performance; reliable and high yield circuits, which will function against the demanded environmental speciflcations. This paper describes the detailed design and development of a spaceborne C-band pulsed solid state power amplifler to deliver 12-watt output power, 45dB gain with 22 microsecond pulse width and 8% duty cycle. The salient features of this paper are drain modulated pulse driver circuit design, non- linear design of the power stages and electronic package design. The paper also describes pulsed SSPA conflguration, RF section, Electronic Power Converter Module, RF design and other space aspects to realize the pulsed solid state power amplifler. It is fabricated on the three- layer metallized alumina substrate, integrated with power converter module; and tested under simulated space environment. The test result validates the design speciflcation of the pulsed solid state power amplifler, implemented at miniaturized conflguration.

Excitation of atmospheric pressure uniform dielectric barrier discharge using repetitive unipolar nanosecond-pulse generator

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) excitation by unipolar high voltage pulses is a promising approach for producing non-thermal plasma at atmospheric pressure. In this study, a magnetic compression solid-state pulsed power generator was used to produce repetitive nanosecond pulses for the excitation. The DBD is created using two liquid electrodes. The electrical characteristics of the discharge voltage and current are illustrated under different experimental conditions. The nanosecond-pulse discharge current is of the order of tens of amperes. This differs from common DBD current excitated by high-voltage ac sources. Compared with the characteristics of two current pulses corresponding to two discharges for unipolar pulsed-excitation, the secondary discharge in this study is minor owing to the pulsed power and discharge configuration. Under the experimental conditions, the luminous emissions from the front and side views of the liquid electrodes show that no filament is observed and the discharge is homogeneous and diffuse in the whole discharge region. The effects of applied voltage amplitude, repetition rate, and air gap spacing on the discharge characteristic are investigated. The discharge mode does not change with the variation of the investigated parameters. A comparison of high voltage ac and nanosecond-pulse excitation is also presented. In addition, discussion of the experimental results is presented.

The Design of Fast Pulse Power Generator with Low Voltage

In recent years, nanosecond pulse power techniques used in the millimeter-wave solid-state pulse power amplifiers attracted much attention. The rise- and fall-time of the pulse, the flatness of pulse-top and the stability of pulse-to-pulse, which have play important roles in a nanosecond pulse power generator techniques, and directly determine the system performance. In this paper, a method using the outbreak current with low-voltage to drive MOS-FETs is proposed. The measured results show that the rise- and fall-time of the output pulse is less than 1.5 ns with a pure resistance 0.5Ω, and it only needs two 12V power supply to give a output current of 20A with a pulse width of 160 ns at a repetition rate of 540 kHz in continuous mode. A flatness of 3% for the output voltage was obtained,which meet the requirements of ka-band solid-state millimeter-wave pulse power amplifier.

基于半导体开关和磁开关的全固态脉冲电源

基于半导体开关和磁开关的全固态脉冲电源

Development of solid state pulse power modulator using toroidal amorphous core

This paper discusses the experiments conducted for the development of 50 kV, 10 A, 10 mus duration, and rise time of 2 mus solid state pulse power modulator using toroidal amorphous steel core and low cost IGBT switches. The experiments revealed (i) the need for new design methodologies based on energy transfer between the electrical and magnetic systems and (ii) the success of low-cost switching circuit.

An All Solid-State Pulsed Power Generator for Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation (PIII)

An all solid-state pulsed power generator for plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is described. The pulsed power system is based on a Marx circuit configuration and semiconductor switches, which have many advantages in adjustable repetition frequency, pulse width modulation and long serving life compared with the conventional circuit category, tube-based technologies such as gridded vacuum tubes, thyratrons, pulse forming networks and transformers. The operation of PIII with pulse repetition frequencies up to 500 Hz has been achieved at a pulse voltage amplitude from 2 kV to 60 kV, with an adjustable pulse duration from 1 μs to 100 μs. The proposed system and its performance, as used to drive a plasma ion implantation chamber, are described in detail on the basis of the experimental results.

Generation of Streamer Discharge Plasma in Water by All Solid-State Pulsed Power

Pulsed power has been used to produce non-thermal plasmas in gases that generate a high electric field at the tip of streamer discharges, where high energy electrons, free radicals, and ozone are produced. Recently, all solid-state pulsed power generators, which are operated with high repetition rate, long lifetime and high reliability, have been developed for industrial applications, such as high repetition rate pulsed gas lasers, high energy density plasma (EUV sources) and water discharges. We have studied and developed repetitive all solid-state pulsed power system for discharge in water. The developed system consists of a photo-voltaic generator, a Pb battery, an inverter, a controller, a command charger, a high-speed thyristor, a magnetic pulse compression circuit and a pulse transformer, and has mobility. This system can generate an output peak voltage of over 100 kV with voltage rise time of 200 ns. In this work, large volume streamer like discharges in water were produced by the developed system and this discharge plasma used to treat algae (Microcystis) with point-to-plane simple electrodes.

Parasitic resonance in a solid-state pulsed power modulator

A resonant structure, induced by parasitic capacitance and inductance, was studied in a solid state pulsed power modulator for an induction synchrotron. Parasitic capacitors form a resonant structure in a switching arm with a self-inductance of the modulator circuit. The resonance induces a ringing in an acceleration voltage, causing an extra force to particles in the longitudinal direction. This effect is serious around the transition energy, because a mismatch exists between the particle distribution before the transition and a bucket shape after the transition. It was found that the most promising way to avoid this situation is to reduce the self-inductance of the modulator circuit. By sufficient reduction, an output waveform without any serious deterioration of flatness has been achieved by a newly developed power modulator.

Application of All Solid-State Pulsed Power Generators to Equipment Using Plasmas

Recently, high-repetition-rate all-solid-state pulsed power generators with long life time and high reliability, have been developed for industrial applications with plasmas, such as high-repetition-rate pulsed gas lasers, high energy density plasma (EUV sources) and water discharges. Nowadays, power semiconductor device technology can improve the performance of fast and high-power switching devices. In practical systems, however, semiconductor switches are used with the assistance of magnetic switches because the semiconductor switches are not capable of driving the usual generators by themselves. These generators consist of semiconductor switches, step-up pulse transformers and magnetic switches. Progress of all-solid-state pulsed power generators is reviewed with particular emphasis on industrial applications with plasmas.

Performance summary on a high power dense plasma focus x-ray lithography point source producing 70 nm line features in AlGaAs microcircuits

A high average power dense plasma focus (DPF), x-ray point source has been used to produce ∼70 nm line features in AlGaAs-based monolithic millimeter-wave integrated circuits (MMICs). The DPF source has produced up to 12 J per pulse of x-ray energy into 4π steradians at ∼1 keV effective wavelength in ∼2 Torr neon at pulse repetition rates up to 60 Hz, with an effective x-ray yield efficiency of ∼0.8%. Plasma temperature and electron concentration are estimated from the x-ray spectrum to be ∼170 eV and ∼5·1019 cm−3, respectively. The x-ray point source utilizes solid-state pulse power technology to extend the operating lifetime of electrodes and insulators in the DPF discharge. By eliminating current reversals in the DPF head, an anode electrode has demonstrated a lifetime of more than 5 million shots. The x-ray point source has also been operated continuously for 8 h run times at 27 Hz average pulse recurrent frequency. Measurements of shock waves produced by the plasma discharge indicate that overpressure pulses must be attenuated before a collimator can be integrated with the DPF point source.

Generation Technologies of High Repetition Rate Pulsed Power.

Recently, high repetition rate, long lifetime, and high reliability pulsed power generators have been developed using semiconductor switches. We have studied and developed an all solid-state pulsed power generator for industrial applications such as a high repetition rate pulsed gas laser and a pulsed ozonizer. Recently, semiconductor power device technology has improved the performance of fast high-power switching devices. However, the semiconductor switch is still not sufficient to drive the pulse laser and the pulse ozonizer directly. Therefore, the semiconductor switch can be used in practical application with the assistance of a magnetic switch and a gate driving technique. This all solid-state generator consists of a semiconductor switch and a magnetic switch. The progress of high repetition rate pulsed power generators is reviewed herein, with particular emphasis on pulse power conditioning by solid-state switching techniques.

高効率固体化パルス電源を用いたTEA CO&lt;SUB&gt;2&lt;/SUB&gt;レーザ発振

We have studied and developed a high efficiency and a high repetition rate transversely excited atmospheric pressure CO2 laser by an all solid-state pulsed power generator. The pulsed power generator consists of a high speed turn-on static induction thyristor and a single-stage magnetic pulse compression circuit using a saturable transformer. The static induction thyristor was improved in the switching speed and a switching loss. The saturable transformer with a Fe-based nano-crystalline magnetic core has two functions of voltage gain and pulse compression. The maximum switching voltage was 4.1 kV. The output voltage was 34.5 kV. On the other hand, the laser head is consisted of uniform field main discharge electrodes and corona preionized electrodes. Maximum laser energy of 3.2 J was obtained. The energy transfer efficiency of the pulsed power generator was 93% and the laser efficiency of 13.8% was obtained. An overall laser efficiency of 12.9% was obtained. The high speed static induction thyristor and the simple magnetic pulse compression circuit realized the high energy transfer efficiency and the high laser efficiency.

高速GTOサイリスタと可飽和トランスを用いた固体化パルス電源

高速GTOサイリスタと可飽和トランスを用いた固体化パルス電源

Solid-state pulsed power for driving a high-power dense plasma focus x-ray source

Solid-state pulsed power technology has been successfully applied to a high average power dense plasma focus (DPF) x-ray point source. In the past, electrode erosion and the associated insulator lifetime have been the primary limiting factors for implementing a DPF x-ray source in a practical x-ray lithographic tool. The solid-state pulsed power supply described here uses fast-switching thyristors, diodes, and saturable magnetics to eliminate current reversal through the DPF electrodes. This has improved the DPF system performance and lifetime by reducing the electrode and insulator vaporization rates more than 20× compared to conventional sparkgap-switched drivers. Erosion measurements indicate that an electrode set can last more than 5 million shots before refurbishment. The DPF source produces an average energy of 7.3 J pulse into 4π Sr at a 1.1 keV effective wavelength in ∼1 Torr of neon gas at repetition rates up to 60 Hz. The x-ray yield efficiency is nominally 0.6%.

Solid-State Pulser Development for High Power Dense Plasma Focus X-Ray Sources

Solid-state pulsed power technology has been successfully applied to a high average power dense plasma focus (DPF) X-ray point source. In the past, electrode erosion and associated insulator lifetime have been the primary limiting factors for implementing a DPF X-ray source in a practical X-ray lithographic tool. The solid-state pulsed power supply described here uses fast-switching thyristors, diodes, and saturable magnetics to eliminate current reversal through the DPF electrodes. Anode erosion measurements show a mass loss of 25 µg/C with the solid-state driver, which indicates that an electrode set can last more than 5 million shots before refurbishment. The DPF source produces an average energy of 7.3 J per pulse into 4π steradians at 1.1 keV effective wavelength in ∼1 Torr of neon gas at pulse repetition rates up to 60 Hz. The X-ray yield efficiency is nominally 0.6%.

Performance characterization for an excimer laser solid-state pulsed power module (SSPPM) after 20B shots

An experiment has been designed to characterize a solid-state pulsed power module (SSPPM) during the initial manufacturing cycle and then repeat the same characterization measurements after the module has gone through several sequences of 10B shots of normal operation in an excimer laser. The goal of such an experiment is to determine what, if any, degradation occurs during these extended periods and to assist in the development of expected module lifetimes that can then be used to estimate the cost of operation of the overall excimer laser. Initial component and subassembly measurements include the capacitance and Q of energy storage capacitors; the inductance and Q of bias, charging, and energy recovery inductors; the B-H characteristics of magnetic cores; insulation breakdown strength; connection resistance; and the general physical appearance of the unit. Operational measurements also compare the efficiency of each pulse compression stage, the repeatability and accuracy of diagnostics, thermal management parameters, and the recovery and on-state characteristics of the silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs) and diodes. Each of these items is monitored before testing and after each sequence of 10B shots has been completed. Results of the experiment are described.

Timing compensation for an excimer laser solid-state pulsed power module (SSPPM)

For certain applications, it is critical to minimize variations in the (throughput) timing between trigger and the output pulse of a magnetic modulator. A circuit is described that maintains a relatively constant delay over a large operating voltage range (600-1150 V) and temperature range (25 /spl deg/C-65 /spl deg/C) range, The circuit operates by sampling the charging voltage and magnetic switch temperature just prior to the start switch trigger. Those parameters are then used to calculate the appropriate amount of delay to add into the low-level trigger chain to ensure that the delay stays constant over the voltage and temperature operating range. Although other approaches can be conceived and implemented, this particular design is relatively simple and inexpensive and meets the desired performance goals. Data presented show that the ideal correction function is nonlinear in nature and, as a result, simple linear approximations are limited in their ability to minimize the timing variations. Improvements to the original circuit use a multiple, piece-wise, linear approach in order to obtain better performance. The results are that an initial timing variation of almost 3 /spl mu/s has been reduced to a total variation of less than 100 ns.

Development of a 2 kHz F2 Laser for 157 nm Lithography

We have developed a 2 kHz repetition rate discharge-pumped molecular fluorine laser oscillating at 157 nm. It has achieved an average power of 22 W at the repetition rate of 2 kHz with a newly developed solid-state pulse power module which has a maximum input energy of 6 J/pulse. The multi-kilohertz F2 laser is a key device for 157 nm lithography aimed at the design rule of below 0.10 microns.