Semiconductor switch-based fast high-voltage pulse generators

Very fast high voltage unipolar and bi-polar pulse generators using semiconductor switches are proposed in this study. They are able to generate pulse voltages of which rising time, pulse width, and magnitude can be controllable with the following parameters: 1) polarity: unipolar or bi-polar 2) pulse voltage: up to 15[kV] 3) rising time: less than 500[ns] 4) pulse width: up to 1200[ns] 5) pulse repetition rate (PRR): 200 /spl sim/ 2000[pps] . They consist of a thyristor based-rectifier, a DC link, a forward or push-pull resonant inverter, a high voltage IGBT stack, diode stacks (optional for bi-polar), and a variable capacitor. The developed system has the superior advantages on compactness and high efficiency and it can be effectively applied to the various industry applications, including flue gas treatments and plasma generation equipments.