Fast thyratron driver

Abstract
A fast solid-state pulse generator used as a thyratron grid driver for kicker pulsers, has been developed and built with power MOSFETs and a transmission line transformer. The MOSFET, pulsed on and off by a pair of P-N channel HEXFETs, switches charged capacitors into the transformer connected in parallel on one end and in series on the other end to step up the voltage. The resulting output pulse parameters are 2-kV peak (into 50 Omega ), 13-ns, risetime (10-90%), 250-ns duration, and less than 50-ps pulse-to-pulse jitter. Various methods are employed to protect the MOSFETs from thyratron arc back, including the use of TransZorbs and a magnetic diode.

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