Recent advances in the development of Ferroelectric generators

Ferroelectric Generators (FEGs) are compact explosive driven high voltage generators. They consist of a small explosive charge, ferroelectric ceramic, and output circuit. There has been and continues to be very active Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) programs to develop FEGs as very compact power supplies for a variety of loads including antennas, neutron generators, and detonator arrays. In this paper, we will report on some of our recent efforts to improve the performance of FEGs and their components. In addition, we will look at what impact the load (resistive, capacitive, and inductive) has on FEG operation. We will also examine several specific loads that have been powered by FEGs.