Model of a bipolar voltage pulse generator

A description is given of the design of a bipolar voltage pulse generator, intended for feeding the streamer chamber of a five-metre magnetic spectrometer. The bipolar spectrometer consists of two ordinary Arcadiev-Marx generators, connected so that the first controllable spark gap is common to both generators. The stainless steel spark gaps are in the form of cylinders of diameter 20 mm. The discharge gap in the controllable spark gap is 5 mm, and in the following spark gaps is from 3 to 4 mm. The amplitude of the output pulses is approximately 200 kV, the delay time of the generator pulse relative to the triggering signal is 150 ns, and the rise-time of the high-voltage pulses is 20 ns. A detailed discussion of test results obtained with the proposed model of the generator is presented. The following conclusions are reached: the amplitude of the output signal and the delay of the generator triggering depend weakly on the amplitude of the triggering pulse. The optimum working regime of the generator as regards the pressure in the spark gaps and feed voltage is close to the region of self-triggering of the generator. The long-term stability of the voltage pulses parameters is also investigated. It is established that without taking special measures to stabilize the generator and power supply operation, the drift in the pulse amplitude of either polarity does not exceed 2%,and the drift in the delay time of generator triggering is not greater than 40 ns