A Novel Switch Design for Compact HTS Flux Pump

High temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets are becoming more and more attractive for many commercial applications. HTS magnets, however, need an external power supply to operate in persistent current mode. One way to charge an HTS magnet is using a conventional power supply. This, however, is not the most efficient way to charge an HTS magnet due to losses from the current leads. Flux pumping is an alternative method to charge an HTS magnet. Over the years different types of flux pumps have been proposed specific to different applications. Transformer-rectifier flux pump is one of the many types of flux pumps that have been researched widely. The design of switches plays a central role in a transformer-rectifier flux pump. In this paper, we propose a novel switch design for a half-wave transformer-rectifier flux pump. The switch proposed in this study will be used in compact and mobile HTS Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) instruments.