Repetitive high-voltage pulse generation using a solid- state opening switch

Heavy-duty opening switches are the most critical components in high-voltage pulsed power systems with inductive energy storage. For industrial applications such as pulsed corona processing, long lifetime, high repetition rate, high reliability and high efficiency are required. At the Ioffe Institute, an unconventional high-voltage switching mechanism has been found, based on the fast recovery process in a diode. This paper discusses the application of such a ‘drift-step-recovery-diode’ for high-voltage pulse generation. The principle of the diode-based nanosecond highvoltage generator will be discussed. The generator will be coupled to a load via a transmission-line-transformer. The advantages of this concept, such as easy voltage transformation, load matching and switch protection, will be discussed. The developed circuit is tested at various corona reactors. Methods to optimize the energy transfer to a load have been evaluated. With respect to possible applications of the system, results will be presented on tar removal from biogas.