A repetitive rate pulse system used in lifetime evaluation of high voltage ceramic capacitors

The lifetime evaluation of High Voltage Ceramic Capacitors (short as HVCC), especially the ones working under repetitive pulses, is of great importance to the overall stability of pulsed power system. However relevant studies concerning the properties of HVCC under the conditions of repetitive rate pulse were rare to see. In order to realize the lifetime testing for HVCC, a high voltage, high current repetitive pulsed power system was developed and tested. This system consists of a repetitive pulsed power supply and a short-circuit testing cavity, whose repetition frequency and output voltage can be regulated easily. With this system, the lifetime test for HVCC was conducted, and the lifetime characteristics at different voltage levels under 25 Hz repetitive rate pulse and two kinds of failure modes were studied. Based on the experimental results, several measures were taken to improve the performance of HVCC. The lifetime was extended greatly from thousands of times to more than 10⁵ times. The designed system and experimental results have great significance for the extensive application field of pulsed power technology, which would provide support for future researches.