A Stacked Cockcroft-Walton High Voltage Multiplier for 220 V at 50 Hz Inputs

For non-thermal food processing utilizing underwater shockwaves, this paper presents a stacked Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier (CWVM). By converting 220 V ac and 50 Hz inputs, the proposed multiplier generates more than 3.5 kV dc output. To generate 3.5 kV at high speed, conventional multipliers connect some voltage multipliers in series. Hence, the conventional multipliers suffer from high voltage stress on circuit components. To solve this problem, we design a novel high voltage multiplier by employing stack topology. By stacking CWVMs, the proposed multiplier can achieve high voltage gains with low voltage stress. The characteristics of the proposed multiplier are demonstrated by theoretical analysis and simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE) simulations. The SPICE simulations demonstrated that the proposed multiplier can achieve high gains as well as high speed operation and low voltage stress.