Design and Application of Repetitive Nanosecond Pulse Generator Based on Avalanche Transistors

In this paper, two 4×10-stage Marx bank circuits based on avalanche transistors were designed. Both circuits can produce nanosecond pulses with an amplitude of 10 kV and a rise time less than 4 ns, one of which generated positive pulses and the other generated negative pulses. Both circuits were improved by using the auxiliary trigger topology (ATT) which can change from over-voltage conduction to the combined action of over-voltage and trigger. And the result showed that the use of ATT decreased the failure rate of transistor. And then, an APPJ generating device with a pin-ring structure was built. The effects of pulse polarity, repetition rate, and flow rate of Helium on the characteristics of APPJ were experimentally studied. The results showed that under the same conditions, the length of APPJ generated by the positive pulse was longer than negative pulses. The discharge repetition rates only affected the brightness of APPJ, and the higher the repetition frequency, the greater the brightness. As the flow rate increased, the length of APPJ appeared to increase first and then decrease.