Repetitive High Boost Ratio Pulsed Power Generator for Dielectric Barrier Discharge Applications

Pulsed power generators have widely used in pulsed plasma applications. This article provides a newly developed all-solid-state pulsed power generator (PPG) with a high boost ratio (HBR) for dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) applications. By using a common low-voltage power supply, the proposed generator achieves high-voltage pulses via simply connecting modules in series without regard for isolation problems due to inductive voltage adder technology. For HBR, we introduce a step-up transformer to enhance voltage gain further. The topology effort of the step-up transformer focuses on a high primary-secondary side voltage ratio. However, the high booster ratio output is accompanied by the problem of waveform oscillation, especially for capacitive DBD load. Therefore, this article proposes a novel diode-resistor shaping method to solve the aforementioned waveform distortion problems. Working principles of developed PPG as well as additional shaping circuit are described, the impact of the shaping branch is analyzed and detailed parameter calculations are given for the selection of passive components. Finally, a portable 10 kV prototype setup with similar to 400 voltage gain ratio (25 V input) was implemented and experimented with different DBD applications, validating the concept of the proposed PPG analysis.

Automated summary

This article introduces a newly developed all-solid-state pulsed power generator for dielectric barrier discharge applications. By connecting the modules in series, high-voltage pulses can be achieved, and further voltage gain is obtained by using a step-up transformer. The article also proposes a novel shaping method to solve waveform distortion problems. The concept of the proposed PPG analysis is validated through experiments.