A Hybrid Symmetrical Voltage Multiplier

Voltage multiplier circuits are widely used in many high-voltage/low-current applications. A conventional symmetrical voltage multiplier (SVM) has much better performance, when compared with its half-wave counterpart. However, it requires a high-voltage transformer (HVT) with center-tapped secondary to perform its push-pull kind of operation. The design of an HVT with center-tapped secondary is relatively complex. This paper proposes a hybrid SVM (HSVM) for dc high-voltage applications. The multiplier is formed by cascading a diode-bridge rectifier and an SVM with diode-bridge rectifier as the first stage of multiplier. The proposed topology saves two high-voltage capacitors and requires only one secondary winding of HVT. Besides, it has lesser voltage drop and faster transient response at start-up, when compared with conventional SVM. The feasibility of the proposed HSVM is validated both by simulation and experimental results of a laboratory scaled-down prototype.