Design and operation of a fast-risetime, 500 Hz, 24 kV, optically-isolated pulse trigger generator

This paper presents the design and performance characteristics of an optically isolated, trigger generator for spark gap applications that is capable of operating at over 500 Hz rep rate. The pulsed trigger generator is designed to achieve fast risetimes on the order of 1kV/ns to cause breakdown between the trigatron trigger pin and the opposite electrode. The pulsed trigger generator is designed to trigger a 10-stage, 500 kV, 42 J Marx generator. The system is capable of delivering a 4-25 kV pulse with a 10/90 risetime of 20 ns. A board was fabricated to control a capacitor charger and high voltage thyristor via fiber optic inputs. The capacitor charger, a 60 W constant current dc-dc power supply with variable voltage control, is capable of charging 1 nF in less than 0.3 ms. The system is battery-powered using a 33 V lithium polymer battery pack for isolated operation in noisy environments. For burst mode operation, a larger 250 nF buffer capacitor, which is initially charged, is connected through a 100 kΩ resistor to the trigger capacitor, which is varied between 1 and 40 nF. The value of the trigger capacitor is adjusted to provide optimum performance for a given transformer and magnetic switch. System modeling results along with experimental data are discussed including the reliability and performance of the overall system including jitter at 500 Hz operation.