Pulsed magnet system considerations for repetitive operation of high power magnetrons

The authors have performed a trade-off evaluation of pulsed electromagnet systems for a repetition rate application of high-power magnetrons. The required magnetic field is 5 to 15 kG with 1% uniformity over the magnetron volume, and the pulse repetition rate is of the order of 5 pps. To drive the magnets, a recirculating driver scheme which transfers energy back and forth between two capacitor banks has been identified as a viable low-power loss approach. The circuit comprises a 10 kW switching power supply, a high-voltage switch network, 400 kJ capacitor banks, and magnetic coils. Operation in the voltage range of 10 to 50 kV and currents of tens of milliseconds pulse width are evaluated relative to losses, system size and weight, and limitations at higher repetition rates. It is concluded that recirculating circuitry offers an attractive alternative for repetitive pulsing of electromagnets for high power magnetrons. Average power consumption is much less than that for a crowbar system