Pulsed MOSFET based linear transformer driver

Pulsed power flash radiography is a rapidly growing technology which involves the generation of intense and short bursts of electric pulses to generate high energy X-rays to inspect dense objects. The generation of fast transition, short width, repetitive pulses for effective output requires switching technology which has limitations. From the traditional slow switching gas trigger switches, switching technology has evolved to semiconductors which has led to improved switching characteristics and delivered pulse shapes. One such semiconductor which is of interest in flash radiography is a power MOSFET. Due to superior switching speeds, repetition rates and modularity, MOSFETs are a strong contender in future pulsed power applications. This thesis focuses on the design of a MOSFET based pulsed power system capable of generating 2.2kV, 200A pulses with turn on and turn off times of less than 10ns and 20ns respectively. In order to achieve the target specification, a high speed current source MOSFET gate driver design specific to the application is proposed. Further, an inductive voltage adder system which utilises multiple lower voltage pulse sources driven by MOSFETs and outputs a higher voltage which is the summation of the total number of voltage sources, is designed to be compatible with the proposed gate driver scheme. A compact high power density pulsed power prototype is demonstrated which provides a benchmark for future research into the development of a larger scale system for flash radiography.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral-pg

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Strathclyde

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Iyengar, Pravin

DOI

10.48730/ygtz-mh27

Identifier

T13814

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:strathclyde:vx021f09b