High Power Repetitive Stacked Blumlein Pulse Generators Producing Waveforms with Pulse Durations Exceeding 500 N Sec

Abstract : The repetitive stacked Blumlein pulse power generators developed at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) consist of several triaxial Blumleins stacked in series at one end. The lines are charged in parallel and synchronously commuted with a single thyratron at the other end. The number of lines can be varied from 2 to 12 and in this way, relatively low charging voltages are multiplied to give a high discharge voltage across an arbitrary load without the need for Marx bank circuitry. In this report, performances of these Blumlein pulsers with different line configurations and extended line lengths are given. It is demonstrated that they are capable of producing switching waveforms with fast risetimes and with pulse durations exceeding 500 nsec without degradation of the voltage gains. The existing opportunities in tactically packaging these devices are discussed and demonstrated.