A modular high-voltage pulse generator based on transformer charging with high boosting capability and low-voltage dc input

Abstract

By applying repetitive and high-voltage pulses across a specific medium like a reactor or a chamber, a transient plasma is generated which can be used for various applications including water treatment, air purification, and food sterilization. In order to generate the aforementioned pulses, in this paper, a modular high-voltage pulse generator (HVPG) based on cascaded full-bridge sub-modules (FB-SMs) and transformer-based charging is proposed. By utilizing transformer-based charging, the need for a complex balancing circuit with numerous sensors is eliminated and all capacitors are charged incessantly via an uninterruptible charging circuit. The proposed topology has a high boosting gain and is able to charge all capacitors from a low-voltage dc input through the use of an inverter, transformer network, and voltage multiplier circuits. The FB-SMs can provide bipolar and variable voltage pulses, as well as modularity, both benefiting the efficient and cost-effective generation of plasma.The operation principle and the modulation strategy of the proposed HVPG is analyzed and verified by the simulation results using PLECS software.