A compact 4 GW pulse generator based on pulse forming network-Marx for high-power microwave application

A compact PFN (pulse forming network)-Marx generator, which is based on mica capacitors, is constructed to generate intense electron beams for the purpose of high-power microwave generation. The key components of the generator, including a PFN-Marx, a trigger source, a multi-stage gas switch, and a load, are introduced in this paper. The PFN-Marx is composed of 19 PFN modules, which are formed by four mica capacitors in parallel. The temperature characteristics and pulse characteristics are tested in this study. The mica capacitor is insensitive to the temperature, and its lifetime is tens of thousands. Considering the influence of the ultraviolet light pre-ionization, gas gap switches are assembled in a nylon house. The trigger source, which is a mini-Marx generator based on the integration into the magnetic transformer and the magnetic switch, is used for increasing the stability of the switches. The generator has been tested on a water load and a relative magnetron. The experimental results show that this generator can deliver electrical pulses with the pulse width of 120 ns and the amplitude of 400 kV on a 40-Ω water load at a repetition rate of 50 Hz. In addition, utilizing the generator to drive a Ku band magnetron at a voltage level of 330 kV, a 500 MW microwave pulse with the pulse width of 50 ns at the frequency of 14.4 GHz is obtained.