Design of a solid-state fast voltage compensator for klystron modulators requiring constant AC power consumption

This paper proposes a novel topological solution for klystron modulators integrating a Fast Voltage Compensator which allows an operation at constant power consumption from the utility grid. This kind of solution is mandatory for the CLIC project under study, which requires several hundreds of synchronously operated klystron modulators for a total pulsed power of 39 GW. The topology is optimized for the challenging CLIC specifications, which require a very precise output voltage flat-top as well as fast rise and fall times (3μs). The Fast Voltage Compensator is integrated in the modulator such that it only has to manage the capacitor charger current and a fraction of the charging voltage. Consequently, its dimensioning power and cost is minimized.