SI-thyristor as a high power switching device for fast high voltage pulse generators

Characterization of SI-thyristors as a fast closing switch for pulsed power application was examined Since the SI-thyristors employed in this study are normally on-state, a negative bias voltage is necessary at the gate electrode to establish hold-off-state. As a consequence, fast current rise rate can be strongly expected A low impedance gate driving circuit built with MOSFETs improved turn-on characteristics remarkably By adjusting anode voltage distribution and gate timing carefully, stacked Si-thyristors were successfully operated to make turn on The highest di/dt obtained in this study is 55kA/mu s. A fast high voltage pulse generator with magnetic pulse compression scheme was built by using stacked SI-thyristors. To obtain faster high voltage pulse,a nonlinear transmission line as an additional circuit for pulse sharpening was employed.