Pseudospark based pulse forming circuit for plasma ignition system

The design and operation of a pulse forming circuit using an advanced pseudospark switch are presented in this paper. The pulse forming circuit has been applied for corona or transient plasma assisted flame ignition in pulsed detonation engines (PDE). A pseudospark based pulse generator together with the ignition circuit is discussed. This application requires the operation of the pseudospark switch at a charging voltage of 30 kV and a repetition rate up to 1 kHz. A single stage lumped element blumlein and a 1:3 matglas-polyethylene-foil core transformer were employed to create high-voltage (more than 80 kV) short-duration (50 ns) pulses.