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A Study on Semiconductor Switch Characteristics for a High Repetitive Fast Rising Solid-State Modulator

  • Department of Propulsion System Research
  • Chung-Ang University

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, semiconductor switches are analyzed, compared, and selected for solid-state pulsed power modulators with a high repetitive fast rise time. Characteristics of discharge switches are critical in the design of pulsed power modulators with a fast rise time of several tens of nanoseconds. Five types of switches, including insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and silicon carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (SiC-MOSFET), were analyzed to select a discharge switch in addition to a comparison considering their rise time, arc reliability, and cost. A test circuit was designed and used to compare the rise time of semiconductor switches. Finally, a 1200-V/40-A IGBT was selected as the best performing discharge switch. The rise time and cost of the selected IGBT were up to 30% slower than and 1/6 those of the comparison SiC-MOSFET, respectively. The selected IGBT was employed in a high-voltage pulsed power modulator with specifications of 10 kV, 80 A, a maximum repetition rate of 50 kHz, and a minimum pulsewidth of 100 ns. The modulator exhibited a rise time of 18 ns or less and an operating repetition rate of 50 kHz. Finally, the fast rise time of the selected switch and its arc reliability was verified.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3022-3028
Number of pages7
JournalIEEE Transactions on Plasma Science
Volume50
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Sep 2022

Keywords

  • Marx generators
  • power semiconductor switches
  • pulse generation
  • pulse power system switches

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