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Drift-step-recovery diodes (DSRDs) are used in pulsed-power generators to produce nanosecond-scale pulses with a rise rate of the order of 1 kV/ns. A 2.2 kV, 1 ns pulsed power circuit is presented. The circuit features a single prime switch that utilizes a low-voltage dc power supply to pump and pulse the DSRD in the forward and reverse directions. An additional lowcurrent dc power supply is used to provide a voltage bias in order to balance the DSRD forward with respect to its reverse charge. The DSRD was connected in parallel to the load. In order to study the circuit's efficiency, it was operated over a wide range of operating parameters, including the main and bias source voltages, and the trigger duration of the prime switch. A peak voltage of 2.2 kV with a rise time of less than 1 ns and a rise rate of 3 kV/ns was obtained, where the efficiency was 24%. A higher efficiency of 52% was obtained when the circuit was optimized to an output peak voltage of 1.15 kV. The circuit was operated in single-shot mode as well as in bursts of up to 100 pulses at a repetition rate of 1 MHz. The experimental results are supported by a PSPICE simulation of the circuit. An analysis of the circuit input and output energies with respect to the MOSFET and DSRD losses is provided.

Drift-step-recovery diodes (DSRDs) are used as ∼ 1 ns high-voltage opening switches by pumping them slowly in the forward direction and then pulsing them quickly in the reverse direction. The fast opening occurs when the reverse current discharges the carriers that were stored in the DSRD junction during the forward cycle. Typical forward and reverse timescales are tens and a few nanoseconds, respectively. Although a state-of-the-art metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor may pulse the DSRD at a rise-rate of about 20 A/ns, the DSRD itself can be used to pulse another DSRD at a rise-rate of about 60 A/ns. An enhanced performance by the proposed method, resulting in a high-voltage nanosecond pulse has been reported. This pulse was then further sharpened by driving a fast avalanche diode. A 6-kV, 130-ps rise-time, with a rise-rate exceeding 40 kV/ns circuit is presented.