A stripline kicker driver for the Next Generation Light Source

Diversified Technologies, Inc. (DTI), under an SBIR grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, assembled a prototype pulse generator capable of meeting the original specifications for the Next Generation Light Source (NGLS) fast deflector. The ultimate NGLS kicker driver must drive a 50 Ω load (a 50 Ω terminated Transverse Electromagnetic (TEM) deflector blade) at 10 kV, with flat-topped pulses according to the NGLS pulsing protocol and a sustained repetition rate of 100 kHz. Additional requirements of the specification include a 2 ns rise time (10 - 90%), a highly repeatable flattop with pulse width from 5 - 40 ns, and a fall time less than 1 μs (down to 10^-4 of the peak value). The driver must also effectively absorb high-order mode signals emerging from the deflector itself.