Theory of RF Pulse Generation Through Nonlinear Transmission Lines

Nonlinear transmission lines (NLTLs) are one of the most prominent solid-state sources of high-power RF pulses. However, there is no integrated mathematical basis, which predicts adequately the generated waveforms on an NLTL and those delivered to the load. This analysis is required for designing and optimizing these transmission lines. Most works in this area are related to experimental studies and results. In this paper, we have developed a theoretical basis, which predicts all the required characteristics of the generated RF pulses on a lossy NLTL. The RF amplitude, the maximum voltage, and the central frequency of the generated pulses at each node of an NLTL are formulated. All the obtained formulas were verified by SPICE simulations and experimental measurements. The comparisons made with the data obtained from the reported experimental studies of the other researchers in this field reinforce these analytical results as well.