Experimental research on a 10-stage wave erection Marx generator

A 10-stage wave erection Marx generator is designed and set up using 50-kV non-inductive capacitors and solid resistors. The impedance characteristic of the generator is experimentally studied by utilizing a water resistor load with different resistances. For a charging voltage of 40 kV, an output high voltage pulse with amplitude of about 200 kV, full width half maximum (FWHM) of 40~50 ns, and rise time of several ns is obtained on a matched load. This high voltage pulse generator is applied to drive a field-emission diode successfully. For a cathode-anode gap of 15 mm with charging a voltage of 30 kV, the output voltage on the diode is about 154 kV, and the electron beam current is 1.6 kA.