Design, Analysis and Prototyping of High Voltage Nanosecond Solid-State Marx Generator

Solid-state pulse power generators have initiated a major revolution in the field of high-power power electronics, leading to efficient generation and control of high voltage and high frequency pulses for a number of applications such as microwave applications, water and food treatment and some medical applications such as electroporation. This paper presents analysis and design of a 5.0 kV solid-state Marx generator with a nanosecond rise time. The equivalent circuits during charging mode and discharging mode are established which are then used to analyze the performance of the circuit analytically and using simulation tool. A number of parametric studies are then conducted which aid in understanding the effect of the parasitic elements on the output pulse magnitude and rise time. Lastly, a lab-scale prototype is built and tested which proves that pulses of 5.0 kV magnitude and 40 ns rise time are obtained using 500 V input voltage and ten stages.