Modeling of an Inductive Adder Kicker Pulser for Darht-II

Abstract

An all solid-state kicker pulser for a high current induction accelerator (the Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test facility DARHT-2) has been designed and fabricated. This kicker pulser uses multiple solid state modulators stacked in an inductive-adder configuration. Each modulator is comprised of multiple metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) which quickly switch the energy storage capacitors across a magnetic induction core. Metglas is used as the core material to minimize loss. Voltage from each modulator is inductively added by a voltage summing stalk and delivered to a 50 ohm output cable. A lumped element circuit model of the inductive adder has been developed to optimize the performance of the pulser. Results for several stalk geometries will be compared with experimental data.