Battery-Driven Portable High Voltage Pulse Generator for Microplasma Applications

We designed and developed a portable high-voltage pulse generator for microplasma applications. The prototype pulse generator is powered by four AAA batteries and in a palmtop size utilizing an inductive energy storage technique. The open output voltage is 3.5 kV and the repetition frequency ranges from 0.5 to 1.7 kHz. It successfully worked to produce the microplasma with needle-to-sphere miniature electrodes in air. The discharge system is operated stably over two hours. In this paper, we discussed several key issues to design and manufacture the compact high-voltage pulse generator for microplasma applications.