Development of a triggering arrangement for the KALI-30GW MARX generator

This paper reports the design methodology and implementation experiments for a solid-state-based triggering arrangement for the MARX generator of the KALI-30GW (1 MV, 30 kA, 80 ns) pulsed power system. The 15-stage bipolar MARX generator of the KALI-30GW system is triggered using a trigatron-type spark gap. An insulated-gate bipolar-transistor (IGBT)-based trigger supply is used to trigger the first spark gap, and the next two spark gaps are triggered by using internally-generated trigger pulses. Optically-isolated arrangements are provided for a human interface. The entire assembly was tested with a dummy copper sulphate load, and an excellent triggering range of 7–12 kV was achieved. The circuit diagram, analysis and experimental results of the triggering arrangement are presented in the paper.