Compact EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) Generator Installing a Peaking Circuit

There have been numerus studies for amplifying EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) radiation with large devices, such as vircator and MILO. There are, however, another issue to reduce dimensions of EMP generators. Spark gap is a candidate to attain the goal because its structure is quite simpler. Additionally, pulse-forming circuits are another idea to reach the aim since they compress small energy into high power, suggesting that they can accomplish both small dimensions and high intensity EMP. We tried to combine spark gap and the adequate pulse-forming circuit to develop a compact high-power EMP generator. CST Studio Suite (SIMULIA) numerically simulated EMP radiation from spark gap connected to several types of pulse-forming circuits. The simulation showed that the peaking circuit boosted EMP from the spark gap. This result was consistent with the theory that the higher frequency of arc discharge currents, the stronger intensity of EMP from the arcing. Based on the simulations, we prototyped a compact EMP generator.