Highly Efficient Vector-Inversion Pulse Generators

NASA Tech Briefs, Aug 2004

Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama

Improved transmission-line pulse gen-erators of the vector-inversion type are being developed as lightweight sources of pulsed high voltage for diverse applica-tions, including spacecraft thrusters, portable x-ray imaging systems, impulse radar systems, and corona-discharge sys-tems for sterilizing gases. In this develop-ment, more than the customary attention is paid to principles of operation and de-tails of construction so as to the maximize the efficiency of the pulse-generation process while minimizing the sizes of components. An important element of this approach is segmenting a pulse gen-erator in such a manner that the electric field in each segment is always below the threshold for electrical breakdown. One design of particular interest, a complete description of which was not available at the time of writing this article, involves two parallel-plate transmission lines that are wound on a mandrel, share a common conductor, and are switched in such a manner that the pulse generator is divided into a "fast" and a "slow" section. A major innovation in this de-sign is the addition of ferrite to the "slow" section to reduce the size of the mandrel needed for a given efficiency.

This work was done by M. Franklin Rose of Radiance Technolo-gies, Inc., for Marshall Space Flight Center. For further infor-mation, access the Technical Support Package (TSP) free on-line at www.techbriefs.com/tsp under the Electronics/Computers category. MFS-31870