Generation of a High Voltage Pulse of 50 ns Pulse Duration using a Helical Blumlein Pulse Forming Line

Abstract

A high voltage pulse generator based on the Blumlein pulse forming line (PFL) was fabricated to produce a voltage pulse whose peak value is ∼300 kV and pulse duration is ∼50 ns. Three cylindrical electrodes, such as inner,middle, and outer electrodes, are concentrically placed to make a compact PFL. To increase the pulse duration of the output pulse without any change of the size of the generator, the middle electrode is replaced by a helical strip electrode. To determine the radius of the helical electrode, the impedance of the helical Blumlein PFL is calculated using an approximate formula where the dispersive property of the helical Blumlein PFL is not considered. The dependence of the impedance on the frequency is computed by a commercial program. The number of turns in the helical electrode is decided to provide a demanded pulse duration. The experimental result shows that the helical Blumlein PFL is capable of making a high voltage pulse of ∼50 ns pulse duration.