Self-Trigger Solid-State Quasi-Square Wave Marx Generator Based on Cascode Structure

With the increasingly extensive applications of all solid-state Marx generators in the defense and industrial fields, the development of traditional Marx topology faces many key issues, such as drive isolation, compact design, and slow discharge falling edge over high resistance. Hence, a novel compact quasi-square wave pulse generator is proposed. In Marx modules, by employing the cascode push-pull structure of the N-channel power MOSFETs and the P-channel power MOSFETs, the circuit can obtain tail-cut capability with single drive control. By means of interstages resistor-capacitor coupling, the tail-cut switch can be triggered on as designed to improve the output falling edge. The characteristic parameters of the eight-stage experimental prototype are as follows: an output voltage amplitude of 3.8 kV with both rising time and falling time shorter than 100 ns and a pulsewidth of 300–600 ns.