Operation of a 500 kV, 4 kA Marx generator at 500 Hz rep-rate

A 42 J, 10-stage pulse forming network (PFN) Marx generator capable of producing a 500 kV, 50 ns full-width-half-max (FWHM), ∼5 ns rise time pulse into an open load at a rep-rate of 500 Hz has been designed for use as a pulsed power source for a reflex triode virtual cathode oscillator (vircator). Rayleigh PFNs are used in place of discrete capacitors for each stage of the 10-stage Marx generator. Effort was taken to minimize parasitic inductance such that the quality of the pulse shape is maintained as much as possible. In order to rep-rate the Marx generator, a trigatron-based triggering scheme is used to initiate erection of the Marx generator. A 20 ns risetime, 24 kV solid-state pulse trigger generator capable of operating at high repetition rates is used to drive the trigatron. The required charge rate for a 500 Hz pulse repetition frequency (PRF) for the Marx generator is 24 kW. Repetitive operation requires additional design considerations that would be irrelevant to single pulse firing. Pressurized air is jetted across the spark gaps by means of built-in gas manifolds to remove remaining ionized gas between each pulse and prevent premature erection during the subsequent charging cycle. The built-in gas manifolds were designed using a hydrodynamic simulation to ensure equal flow rate across each of the spark gaps and equal pressure along the length of the tube chamber.