Development of a 500-kV All Solid-State Linear Transformer Driver

A solid-state repetition linear transformer driver (LTD) for a high-power microwave (HPM) driver is constructed, comprising a total of 50 stage-series structures, with each stage possessing eight parallel bricks. This article describes the primary and secondary circuit differences between a driving source and a modern LTD, as well as analyzing the influence of load impedance on system efficiency in a simplified circuit of the LTD using a Laplace transform. This article also examines the optimum load impedance for a given magnetic core and primary circuit. The current load impedance of one stage is 2 Ω, and the corresponding system efficiency is 95%. A real-time control and triggering system are developed. A trigger transformer with a 100-channel pulse output is designed. The output voltage of the constructed driving source is about 500 kV, the current is 5 kA, the pulsewidth is about 125 ns, and the output power is 2.5 GW. The driving source can work at a repetition rate of 50 Hz. The driving source will drive a low magnetic field relativistic backward-wave oscillator to generate HPMs.