Megavolt repetitive SOS-based generator

An all-solid-state nanosecond generator has been developed for commercial applications of pulsed power. The generator is based on a SOS-technology and is designed to deliver 40 to 60-ns pulses with amplitude of up to 1 MV at a 500-Hz repetition rate into an electron beam or streamer corona discharge load. An average output power is up to 30 kW. A distinctive feature of the generator is that it uses an all-solid-state switching system. An inductive storage and a semiconductor opening switch (SOS) are used as the final power amplifier. A magnetic pulse compressor pumps the SOS. A thyristor charging unit is used at the generator input. The semiconductor opening switch based on SOS-diodes is one of the key components of the generator. This unit has the operating voltage of 1.2 MV and cuts off currents up to 4 kA in about 10 ns. The unit is 400 mm. long and its mass is about 5 kg. It contains 20 SOS-diodes: 10 diodes in series and 2 diodes in parallel. The generator is outfitted with 1 or 2 such units in parallel depending on the storage inductance. The design of the generator, its circuitry operating principle, and experimental results obtained have been described.