Capacitor-charging power supply for laser pulsers using a boost circuit

Abstract

A capacitor-charging circuit providing high-voltage gain, inherent command-charge capability, and high efficiency is proposed. It can be used in high average-power laser pulsers as well as in thyratron trigger-generator circuits at low-power levels. It offers simple and compact means of varying the charging voltage on a capacitor. Unlike conventional command-resonant chargers, where the cathode of the switch is floated at high potential, a high-voltage switch is not required in the charging path in the proposed scheme. Operation of this circuit is described at 5 kHz with a voltage gain of 20.

High-Voltage Pulsed-Power Supply Operating at Repetitive Discharge Mode for Driving Very Small Plasma Focus Devices

“…Hence, by assuming a 50% of reliability coefficient in the charging process of the 84-nF capacitor bank up to a maximum charging voltage of 7 kV, the maximum output power of the SMPS can be calculated to be about 41 W. With respect to this low power level of our power supply, a dc-to-dc fly-back converter is recommended to be used [19]. The fly-back converter is one of the commonly used topologies by which the output current during the start of the charging mode, the charging interval and the final voltage level can be controlled [20]- [22].…”