Droop compensated pulse forming network driven pulsed transformer design

Pulse transformers are often used in pulsed power for high voltage generation. Unfortunately, due to their transfer characteristics, transformers degrade the input pulse (i.e. limit the risetime, droop exponentially, etc). For low impedance (less than a few tens of Ohms) and long output pulse (on the order of a few microseconds) applications, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to use pulse transformers. We describe in this paper pulse forming networks (PFNs) which are droop compensated to make the output pulse square for the duration of the input pulse. Using this technique, one can design a PFN which can deliver constant power to a wide range of loads (with the proper transformer load combinations) [1].