A Bipolar Pulse Generator Using Inductive Isolation

Pulsed power technology has many applications, such as electroporation, food processing, plasma, etc. The various applications require different parameters. In biomedical applications, bipolar pulses can effectively attenuate muscle contractions during therapy process. This paper presents an adjustable bipolar pulse generator (PG) scheme based on inductive isolation. Each stage circuit module contains 1 capacitor, 2 switches and 1 isolation transformer. By controlling the timing of the switches, the pulse source can output adjustable bipolar pulses. Then, the isolated coupling inductor then isolates the potential changes during discharge. The results show that the pulse polarity, width, amplitude, rising and falling edge can be adjusted flexibly. The developed PG can output the polarity adjustable pulse with an amplitude of 5 kV, a pulse width of 5 µs, a rising edge of 40 ns, and a total of 11 levels. This paper presents a new modular PG with adjustable waveforms using coupled inductive isolation. It can generate various types of pulses with flexible and adjustable parameters. It will be applied in many fields, such as biological medicine, plasma science and electromagnetic compatibility.