High-Voltage Pulsed-Power Cable Generator

A cable-based 25-GW pulsed-power generator with output impedance of 2 Omega is presented. It is designed to deliver a 200-ns-long 500-kV pulse into a 10 Omega load. The primary energy storage of the generator consists of a 50-kV 20-kJ capacitor bank. The 50-kV capacitor bank is discharged into a 1 : 12 transformer. The transformer is designed to charge a pulse-forming line (PFL) to 600 kV. When charged, the PFL is discharged into a load via a spark gap. The spark gap is located in a coaxial system containing deionized water together with the cable endings of the PFL and transformer. The electric field at the cable endings is refractively graded by the high permittivity of the surrounding water. The primary and secondary windings consist of high-voltage cables that are interleaved and wound together. The PFL consists of eight 40-m-long 110-kV coaxial cables with both ends connected to the load. Each cable screen is grounded in the middle and connected in parallel. The cables have a characteristic impedance of 30 Omega. The parallel cable setup gives the PFL an impedance of 2 Omega. The total length, height, and width of the pulse generator are 4, 2, and 1.2 m, respectively.