High voltage pulse generator

Introduction to High Voltage Pulse Generator

The high voltage pulse generator of the GBS Elektronik brand is available in 3 distinct categories:

RUP family: it delivers rectangular voltages. It is modular and it is made to fit with your specifications. It comes in the form of standardized rack chassis or integrated in 19′ cabinet and mini cabinet. It is suitable for applications such as dielectric discharges, spark discharges, plasma ractions, etc.

Minipuls family: we have a range of high voltage sinusoidal pulse generators in OEM format (PCB boards to be wired and integrated into your device) for DBD discharge devices in plasma reactors. Applications are for example water treatment, surface modification of materials such as wood, treatment of medicine tanks, aeronautics with fluid flows, etc…

Tpuls3 family: our Tpuls3 pulse generator delivers very short, energetic and optionally oscillatory pulses. It is used for endurance tests in power electronic devices, stress tests in electronic components, etc.

These solutions are available in collaboration with our German partner GBS Elektronik.

IF YOU CANNOT FIND YOUR HIGH VOLTAGE PULSE GENERATOR, PLEASE CONTACT US

HV PULSE GENERATOR – Pulse Rossendorfer Universal

The pulse generator “Pulse Rossendorfer Universal” (RUP) of the manufacturer GBS Elektronik is designed on the basis of elementary “bricks” which are meant to precisely meet your specifications. We assemble and deliver these generators in a 19 ” rack format chassis for small and medium powers, or in racks and mini racks for stronger powers.

Our pulse generator is suitable for a wide range of pulse parameters and load impedances. It delivers quasi-rectangular pulses, and its components are adjustable in:

• voltage amplitude,
• frequency,
• pulse width,
• duty cycle,
• etc …

These high voltage pulse generators from GBS Elektronik are used in plasma immersion applications, in surface treatment, for the discharge of dielectric barriers, and the generation of corona effects, etc.

Voltage and current monitoring signals with maximum voltage et the output. Left: without cable, right: with connected output cable.

MINIPULS OEM SINUSOIDAL HIGH VOLTAGE PULSE GENERATOR

We offer custom HV pulse generator delivering sinusoidal waves, this is called “Minipuls” and this is used for dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) applications in plasma reactors.

All these generator models are available as OEM version and are interesting to those who wish to integrate this technology into their own devices.

The HV pulse generator creates AC alternating sinusoidal waves at frequencies of about 5 kHz to 20 kHz through cascade transformers. The OEM cards are delivered with a full bridge converter and a circuit board with the transformer stages. The average powers are between 30 W to 700 W, the peak voltages available are 6 kV, 10 kV, 20 kV and 30 kV.

Operation of the Minipuls2 at resonance and near maximum voltage 20 kV peak, respectively 40 kV peak to peak. Green : Output voltage 1:5000, 10 kV / div, Yellow : Primary voltage 50 V / div, Red : Primary current : 5 A / div. Blue : Pulse voltage of 200 ns.

High voltage pulse generator Tpuls3 for capacitive load

The high voltage pulse generator Tpuls3 is designed to deliver short but high power high voltage pulses to the primary of a ferrite ring transformer (e.g. EPCOS type). These pulses can be repeated in frequency up to 20 kHz and beyond.

The output of the transformer then delivers these pulses to a capacitive load, forming an RLC circuit. These pulses can be single-shot or resonant waves with exponential decay. We calculate, design and deliver the transformer to meet your specifications.

Typical voltages range from 1 kV to 15 kV, depending on the transformer and the nature of the load.

Applications

Electrostatic discharge – ESD – in the semiconductor industry. Many electronic components, such as power diodes, are very robust and can withstand an electrostatic discharge, but if a semiconductor component has a small or thin geometry within its physical structure, the voltage can locally destroy the semiconductor. The currents during these discharges become quite high, but are in the nanosecond to microsecond range. A part of the component is definitely damaged, which can cause different kinds of failures. The pulse generator Tpuls3 is used to generate this short and very energetic pulse.

Generation of high frequency electric currents in ball bearings – automotive industry. Electric vehicle drives are designed with high frequency switching circuits powered by a DC battery. These switching circuits generate very high frequency transients and harmonics that propagate into the ball bearings. These create significant damage, such as the formation of small craters in the bearing raceways, destruction of metal alloys on the surface, degradation of lubricants, etc. The consequences are : increased noise level, loss of lubricant efficiency, increased temperature, etc., all of which contribute to the reduction of the bearing’s service life. The pulse generator Tpuls3 in combination with an RLC resonant circuit allows to reproduce these high frequency waveforms assimilated to these harmonics.

Operation with a load of ~7 Ohm. Sinusoidal pulse with exponential decay. Purple represents the current (2 A / div), green represents the voltage at the capacitor (500 V / div).

4-QUADRANT AMPLIFIER

A standard High voltage pulse generator is insufficient if fast fall times are required and the load is primarily capacitive. The DC supplies discharge by themselves only very slowly because of the capacitive stages at their outputs. Therefore a design in the form of current source and current load is necessary. In this mode, current can flow in the opposite direction and thus reduce the discharge time of the capacitors. A 4-quadrant operation is needed.

Our 4-quadrant high voltage pulse generator from GBS Elektronik is a full bridge class D current source based on IGBT transistors. This pulse generator is ideal for applications like plasma physics.