All-Solid-State, Ultra-Fast Rise Time, High-Voltage, High-Repetition-Rate Pulsed Power Generator Using GaN Transistors

In this paper, a novel all-solid-state Marx generator (SSMG) is proposed that offers fast recharge times and thus high repetition rates with little impact on the output rise time. The topology consists of an inverted buck converter combined with a Marx generator. The proposed topology is mostly suitable for the generation of pulses with low pulse width and high repetition rates since the inductor of the buck charger needs to block the full output pulse voltage. It has been shown that for air purification applications, pulses with shorter rise times result in higher yields. Therefore, the proposed generator is optimized for short output rise time through accurate stage timing and utilization of an impedance-matched layout. Finally, a prototype capable of generating <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$5 \text{kV}, 100 ~\mathrm{A}$</tex> pulses has been realized to validate the proposed topology. Results show the generator can achieve 10 kHz repetition rate when generating 100 ns full load output pulses with 8.57 ns output voltage rise time.