Topic
Marx generator
About: Marx generator is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1276 publications have been published within this topic receiving 8970 citations.
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20 Jun 2004TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the practical advantages and pitfalls of a solid-state Marx configuration, and explore a design approach with emphasis on performance, wall-plug efficiency, cost of manufacture, availability and ease of service.
Abstract: Recent advances in IGBT and SiC technology have made possible a range of solid-state modulator concepts that were unthinkable a decade ago. Power densities and speeds of pulsed-power circuits have increased dramatically due to the commercial introduction of fast, multikilovolt IGBT silicon and SiC diodes featured in PCB-style packages. A solid-state modulator concept that stands to benefit considerably from recent IGBT and SiC breakthroughs is the Marx configuration-where an array of stacked modules generates high-voltage output pulses directly from a low voltage DC supply. The Marx scheme avoids the large, inefficient and costly magnetic cores inherent in standard modulator designs, resulting in a considerably simpler, cheaper and more compact mechanical solution. The main disadvantage to this approach is that the individual cells in a Marx bank must float at high voltages during the pulse, complicating the distribution of power and timing signals. This paper examines in closer detail the practical advantages and pitfalls of a solid-state Marx configuration, and explores a design approach with emphasis on performance, wall-plug efficiency, cost of manufacture, availability and ease of service. The paper presents electrical diagrams, mechanical CAD layout and preliminary prototype test data.
13 citations
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TL;DR: The end goal of this paper is to understand the factors contributing to increased jitter and runtime and, thereby, provide paths to improved switch performance.
Abstract: The University of Missouri has completed a new facility, named Tiger, for pulsed-power experimentation. Tiger consists of a 2.8-MV 450-kJ Marx bank that charges up to four 7-nF intermediate storage capacitors (I-stores) in parallel. When charged, the storage capacitors are switched into a resistive load through an SF6-filled laser-triggered gas switch. This switch has been designed to study the factors affecting runtime and jitter of spark-gap switches. All experiments presented in this paper were performed with a single I-store. The test switch was operated from about 500 kV up to 1.25 MV, at switch pressures from 10 to 50 psig. A 30-mJ 266-nm Nd:YAG laser was focused between the switch electrodes to initiate breakdown in the switch. The University of Missouri has examined laser energy, percentage of self-break, and focal length to determine their relation to runtime and jitter. A short discussion of the Tiger facility is presented with experimental results of jitter and runtime tests. The end goal of this paper is to understand the factors contributing to increased jitter and runtime and, thereby, provide paths to improved switch performance.
13 citations
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TL;DR: A flashlamp pumped laser system that utilizes a coaxial Marx-Bank driver circuit is described, which minimizes total inductance so that short duration, high energy pulses efficient for dye laser excitation are obtained.
Abstract: A flashlamp pumped laser system that utilizes a coaxial Marx-Bank driver circuit is described. The property of the Marx-Bank circuit, which is to charge storage capacitors in parallel but discharge them in series connection, affords the practical advantage that high applied voltages and flashlamp input energies may be attained with a relatively low dc charging voltage. The use of a coaxial flashlamp and circuit configuration minimizes total inductance so that short duration, high energy pulses efficient for dye laser excitation are obtained.
13 citations
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01 Jun 2009TL;DR: This paper describes how the problem of designing a Marx generator to drive a capacitive load is reduced to that of choosing a diagonal gain matrix F that places the eigenvalues of the closed-loop matrix A+BF at specific locations.
Abstract: A Marx generator is a well-known type of electrical circuit first described by Erwin Otto Marx in 1924. It has been utilized in numerous applications in pulsed power with resistive or capacitive loads. To-date the vast majority of research on Marx generators designed to drive capacitive loads relied on experimentation and circuit-level modeling to guide their designs. In this paper we describe how the problem of designing a Marx generator to drive a capacitive load is reduced to that of choosing a diagonal gain matrix F that places the eigenvalues of the closed-loop matrix A+BF at specific locations. Here A is the identity matrix and B characterizes the elements of the Marx generator and depends on the number of stages N. Due to the special structure of matrix F, this formulation is a well-known problem in the area of feedback control and is referred to as the structured static state feedback problem. While the problem is difficult to solve in general, due to the specific structures of matrices A and B, various efficient numerical algorithms exist to find solutions in specific cases. In a companion paper by Buchenauer [1] it is shown that if certain conditions hold, then setting the natural frequencies of the circuit to be harmonically related guarantees that all the energy is delivered to the load capacitor after a suitable delay. A theorem formalizing this result is presented. Earlier aspects of this research have been published in two theses [2,3].
13 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, a buck-boost converter-based Marx generator is proposed to generate high-voltage pulses, where a single-phase inverter is employed to supply parallel diode-capacitor units by positive and negative values of the input dc source.
Abstract: In this paper, a new structure of Marx generator (MG) based on buck–boost converter is proposed to generate high-voltage pulses. In this structure, a single-phase inverter is employed to supply parallel diode–capacitor units by positive and negative values of the input dc source ( $\pm V_{\mathrm {in}}$ ). The main contribution of this paper is proposing a new switching strategy, by which a group of capacitors are charged properly. Finally, the charged capacitors are connected in series such that the output voltage is equal to summation of the capacitors’ voltages. Considering specified value of the output voltage, the number of circuit elements in the proposed structure is reduced in comparison with other topologies of unipolar MG. Furthermore, voltage rating of switches and diodes in the proposed topology is lower than that of other unipolar MG structures. Design of the structure ensures that there is no need to connect the switches in series, when the number of stages is increased. To verify the performance of the proposed MG structure, simulation has been carried out in MATLAB/Simulink. Furthermore, a prototype of the proposed structure has been implemented in the lab. The simulation and experimental results confirm the capability of the structure for generating high-voltage pulses.
13 citations