Solid State 2MW Klystron Power Control System

Under an SBIR effort for the DOE, Diversified Technologies, Inc. designed, built, and installed a solid state power control system for the Advanced Light Source klystrons at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). This system consists of two major elements – a 100 kV, 20 A CW solid state series switch, and a solid state voltage regulator for the mod-anode of the klystron. The series switch replaces the existing mercury ignitron crowbar, eliminating these environmentally hazardous components while providing enhanced arc protection and faster return to transmit. The mod-anode voltage regulator uses series IGBTs, operating in the linear regime, to provide highly rapid and accurate control of the mod-anode voltage, and therefore the output power from the klystron. Results from the installation and testing of this system at ANL will be presented.