Wide-bandgap GaN optically-controlled switches have the potential for driving down the cost and size, and improving the efficiency and capabilities of high voltage pulsed-power applications. The key scientific challenge will be measuring the high-field photo-conductive (PC) properties of these materials to determine if they will operate in a high-gain and/or sub-bandgap triggering mode, like...
When driving dynamic loads such as the pulsed electron beam device (GESA), an adjustable output waveform of the driving pulsed power source is desirable. To meet the demand of a maximum output voltage of 120kV at pulse currents of up to 600A for pulse length of up to 100µs, a new Marx-type power modulator is currently under development at IHM. The modular design combined with a gate-boosting...
The thyratron has been used as a switch in pulsed-power applications for almost a century. In the last 20 years, as a result of developments pioneered at DTI, most new modulator applications have transitioned away from thyratrons to solid-state switching. As the cost and capabilities of solid-state modulators has improved, their adoption has grown rapidly. With the continued evolution and...
Solid state klystron modulators are typically based on oil-immersed pulse transformers due to their high performance, robustness, simplicity and straightforward design. However, the size of such transformers are highly impacted by pulse power, output voltage, pulse length, and required rise time; key parameters which are difficult to combine in long pulse high power linac applications.
In...
The CLIC study is investigating the technical feasibility of an electron-positron collider with high luminosity and a nominal centre-of-mass energy of 3 TeV. Pre-damping rings and damping rings (DRs) will produce ultra-low emittance beam with high bunch charge. The DR kicker systems must provide extremely stable field pulses to avoid beam emittance increase. The DR extraction kicker system...
Four identical pulse generators (pulsers) provide fast beam deflection in the Low Energy Beam Transport (LEBT) beam chopping system at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) Linac. The existing pulsers have become obsolete and need to be replaced to improve overall performance of the chopper system. A new bipolar pulse generator has been designed, and a prototype has been built and tested at the...
Wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices bring numerous advantages to power converters due to their inherent superior characteristics and high performance under harsh operating conditions. Currently, traditional silicon switching devices are approaching their practical limits in terms of fast switching, high voltage, and high temperature operation. To overcome the limitations of the existing...
