6-kV, 130-ps rise-time pulsed-power circuit featuring cascaded compression by fast recovery and avalanche diodes

Drift-step-recovery diodes (DSRDs) are used as ~ 1 ns high-voltage opening switches by pumping them slowly in the forward direction and then pulsing them quickly in the reverse direction. The fast opening occurs when the reverse current discharges the carriers that were stored in the DSRD junction during the forward cycle. Typical forward and reverse timescales are tens and a few nanoseconds, respectively. Although a state-of-the-art metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor may pulse the DSRD at a rise-rate of about 20 A/ns, the DSRD itself can be used to pulse another DSRD at a rise-rate of about 60 A/ns. An enhanced performance by the proposed method, resulting in a high-voltage nanosecond pulse has been reported. This pulse was then further sharpened by driving a fast avalanche diode. A 6-kV, 130-ps rise-time, with a rise-rate exceeding 40 kV/ns circuit is presented.