High average power high voltage modulator using a dual pulse transformer circuit

A novel modulator concept is presented using two step-up transformers in series, with an intermediate pulse compression stage. This concept has advantages in terms of minimizing the insulation requirements and core sizes in each stage, as well as minimizing stray capacitances and inductances, respectively. Hence, although this scheme requires an additional component (the second pulse transformer), the overall setup can be optimized in terms of core sizes, insulation requirements, and energy efficiency as compared to standard circuits. Thus, it is possible to start from a comparatively low primary stage voltage of only 1 kV, using standard IGBT switches and off-the-shelf capacitors, in order to achieve pulse amplitudes of over 50 kV at pulse widths of the order of 150 ns, at pulse repetition rates of the order of kHz.