A High-Power Semiconductor-Magnetic Pulse-Generator Circuit

Abstract

A circuit for generating high-power, high-voltage pulse trains is described that uses silicon controlled rectifiers for high-current, low-voltage power switching, and inductors and transformers having saturable-magnetic cores for high-voltage, high-speed switching. Figures of merit for saturable-inductor switches and a measure of power-switching capacity for controlled rectifiers are determined which provide a characterization of these devices that is especially useful for design purposes. A step-by-step circuit-design procedure is presented that is flexible enough so that selected performance attributes (such as smallest size and weight, or highest efficiency) can be emphasized by the designer. A laboratory breadboard semiconductor-magnetic pulse generator producing 1700 average watts in 1.6-microsecond pulses of over 1 megawatt peak power is described as an illustration of the circuit technique.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 1965
Accession Number
AD0625825

Entities

People

  • Godfrey T. Coate
  • Laurence R. Swain

Organizations

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Circuit Analysis
  • Diodes
  • Electron Tubes
  • Frequency
  • Magnetic Cores
  • Magnetic Devices
  • Magnetic Materials
  • Power Supplies
  • Rectifiers
  • Reliability
  • Repetition Rate
  • Saturable Reactors
  • Semiconductors
  • Silicon Controlled Rectifiers
  • Switches
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Voltage Regulators

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics