Sub nanosecond jitter operation of Marx generators

Summary form only given, as follows. Low energy, high peak power Marx generators are finding applications in ultra wideband radar and high power microwave systems. In many cases, these systems require very precise control over the delivery of the pulse from the generator. For example, two individual generators might be used for bi-static radar. Temporal jitter between the two generators may add ambiguity to the measurement. A 17 stage Marx generator was fabricated to study techniques for reducing the jitter in a multi-spark gap system. This paper presents the results of a jitter study, as well as methods explored for jitter reduction.