Switched Oscillator: Parameter Effects on the Generated Signals

This paper describes a methodology to design a switched oscillator (SWO) together with its experimental validation. The dependence of the SWO resonance frequency, bandwidth, and quality factor upon spark-gap pressure, interelectrode distance, and transmission-line (TL) length is evaluated. The SWO simulation results obtained with both the TL model developed in the computer program EMTP-alternative transient program (ATP) and the electromagnetic (EM) model developed in the computer program Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio are compared. An SWO based on simulation results, connected to an impedance of 100 Ω, was constructed and tested in the laboratory. Simulations and laboratory test results fit well. The proposed methodology, which combines TL and EM simulations, was experimentally validated, and it can be used to design SWO systems for different applications.