Bipolar High Voltage Pulse Power Generator

Bipolar high voltage pulse power generator is a device that generates alternately positive and negative pulses of the same amplitude and waveform. It consists of a variable high voltage DC source, a rotating spark gap and a low inductance capacitor. The spark gap allows switching both the charging and discharging phases of the capacitor into the load. The time delay between positive and negative pulses is one half of the repetition period, which is controlled by revolutions of the rotating spark gap. The amplitude of output voltage pulses can be varied up to 35 kV with the repetition frequency up to 100 Hz. Shape of output pulse is determined by used capacitor and the load value. For typical parameters (capacitor 14 nF, average load value ~100 Omega) pulses with exponential slope, rise time 40 ns and pulse duration ~3 mus are generated. The potential applications of such system include in particular generation of the pulse electrical discharges in the liquid phase. This paper describes design and performance of the bipolar high voltage pulse power generator. The high voltage measurements of the generator output pulsed into resistive load are presented and compared with the results of circuit simulations.