Fast quadrupole pulsed power supply in the AGS

As part of the Polarized Proton Project at the AGS, a pulsed power supply system has been developed to energize a set of twelve fast quadrupoles which are symmetrically distributed around the 1/2-mile circumference of the machine. During a typical acceleration cycle, which is normally repeated every 2.4 s, these magnets are energized with bursts of triangular current pulses. The rise-time of each pulse is less than 2 ..mu..s and the width at the base varies from 1 to 3.5 ms depending on the pulse. Within a burst, pulses alternate in polarity and vary in amplitude from 160 A to 2700 A peak. Pulse separation is on the order of 40 ms. Due to the distributed nature of the load and high di/dt, each magnet is powered by a separate modulator. Magnets are driven via coaxial pulse transmission cables up to 200 ft long. In the modulators, the high power pulses are switched with thyratron/ignitron switch pairs. All modulators are charged in parallel with a common system of programmable high voltage power supplies. The overall system is controlled with a distributed network of microcomputers. This paper describes the development, construction and initial performance of the pulsed power supply system.