Optimal Design of a Modular Series Parallel Resonant Converter for a Solid State 2.88 MW/115-kV Long Pulse Modulator

Modern accelerator driven experiments like linear colliders or spallation sources are supplied by RF amplifiers using klystrons. The cathode voltage for these klystrons can be generated by long pulse modulators generating highly accurate voltage pulses in the length of milliseconds. Conventional designs using pulse transformers become huge for long pulses. The series-parallel resonant converter (SPRC) topology avoids this drawback as the transformer is operating at high frequencies. This paper presents a comprehensive design approach for SPRC modules, which is based on an optimization procedure containing an electrical model of the resonant circuit and a thermal model of the semiconductors. In addition, an insulation and a leakage design procedure and a thermal model of the transformer are also presented. Finally, this procedure provides the optimal design parameters of the resonant circuit elements. With these parameters, a global optimizer chooses the optimum amount of modules connected in series and/or in parallel to fulfill the given restrictions. The efficiency of a basic SPRC-module is 94.7% with a pulsed power density of 4.63 kW/l.