Commutation of stacked Blumlein pulsers by avalanche GaAs switches

Stacked Blumlein pulsers have produced high power waveforms with fast risetimes and a wide range of pulse durations and peak values using conventional thyratrons or spark gaps. This paper details the authors' recent efforts to operate these pulsers with GaAs photoconductive switches in the avalanche mode. Adaptation of the design and fast charging schemes have enabled the stacked Blumleins to produce high-power nanosecond pulses with risetimes on the order of 200-300 ps. Significant progress is reported toward realizing an intense, pulse power source for ultra-wideBand HPM devices operating at 100 MW levels of power and kiloHertz repetition rates.