Design and Development of Electromagnet Power Supply for Burst Mode Repetitive High Power Microwave Sources

Abstract

Single frequency High-power microwave sources like Backward Wave Oscillator, Relativistic Magnetron etc., require a high magnetic field of about 1T to 4T for efficient operation. Single-shot HPM systems usually consist of pulsed magnetic systems. However, for repetitive HPM generation, a continuous magnetic field is required. To obtain a continuous high magnetic field in the required volume usually three solutions are worldwide preferred i.e., permanent magnet, DC electromagnet with cooling arrangements and superconductor-based magnetic coil. All these three systems are bulky, expensive and technologically demanding. In this paper, a novel power supply has been suggested that discharges a charged capacitor through a magnetic coil keeping the discharging current constant for a small period like hundreds of milliseconds to a second. An IGBT switch is used to discharge the capacitor1. The duty cycle of the IGBT switch is controlled using a current feedback signal from the hall sensor, thus keeping the current steady at a preset reference value. An experimental setup has been developed using a 300mF capacitor. A constant current up to 500A is achieved for 200mS. This system is scalable. For a longer duration of operation, more capacitor modules need to be added. Details of design, development and experimental results are presented in this paper.