A high current, high voltage solid-state pulse generator for the NIF Plasma Electrode Pockels Cell

Author

Arnold, P.A. ; Barbosa, F. ; Cook, E.G. ; Hickman, B.C. ; Akana, G.L. ; Brooksby, C.A.

Author_Institution

National Ignition Facility, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, CA, U.S.A.

Volume

2

fYear

2007

fDate

17-22 June 2007

Firstpage

1468

Lastpage

1472

Abstract

A high current, high voltage, all solid-state pulse modulator has been developed for use in the Plasma Electrode Pockels Cell (PEPC) subsystem in the National Ignition Facility. The MOSFET-switched pulse generator, designed to be a more capable plug-in replacement for the thyratron-switched units currently deployed in NIF, offers unprecedented capabilities including burst-mode operation, pulse width agility and a steady-state pulse repetition frequency exceeding 1 Hz. Capable of delivering requisite fast risetime, 17 kV flattop pulses into a 6 Ω load, the pulser employs a modular architecture characteristic of the inductive adder technology, pioneered at LLNL for use in acceleration applications, which keeps primary voltages low (and well within the capabilities of existing FET technology), reduces fabrication costs and is amenable to rapid assembly and quick field repairs.

Keywords

Electrodes; Frequency; Ignition; Plasmas; Pulse generation; Pulse modulation; Solid state circuits; Space vector pulse width modulation; Steady-state; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Pulsed Power Conference, 2007 16th IEEE International

Conference_Location

Albuquerque, NM

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-0913-6

Electronic_ISBN

978-1-4244-0914-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PPPS.2007.4652464

Filename

4652464