Development of a Compact Marx Generator for High-Power Microwave Applications

Abstract

One of the goals of the High-Energy Sources Division of the Advanced Weapons and Survivability Directorate at the Phillips Laboratory is to develop high-power microwave sources and the related pulsed power. The development of a compact Marx generator to drive loads with impedances on the order of 10 Ohms will be discussed. It is an 8 stage design, 4 stages charged to +100kV and 4 stages charged to -100kV, that stores 19.2 kJ at full charge. The Marx, excluding the trigger generator, has a diameter of 0.9 m and a height of 0.7 m. The entire assembly is housed in a 1.2 m diameter aluminum pipe pressurized with 30 psig sulfur-hexafluoride. The same sulfur-hexaflouride that insulates the Marx from its container also serves as the working gas in the gas-insulated switches of the Marx. In experiments to date the Marx has been fired hundreds of times at full voltage into loads varying in impedance from 5 to 10 Ohms. The design and fabrication of the Marx generator and the experimental results will be given.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1997
Accession Number
ADA638282

Entities

People

  • M. C. Clark
  • M. C. Scott
  • S. E. Calico

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aluminum
  • Assembly
  • Capacitance
  • Capacitors
  • Ceramic Capacitors
  • Diameters
  • Energy
  • Fabrication
  • Generators
  • High Power Microwaves
  • High Voltage
  • Impedance
  • Inductance
  • Microwaves
  • Power
  • Pressure Vessels
  • Pulsed Power

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Microelectronics