High voltage nanosecond pulser

• US 9,960,763 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2014
• Issued: 05/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EHT Ventures LLC
• Original Assignee: Eagle Harbor Technolologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Miller, Kenneth E., Ziemba, Timothy
• Primary Examiner(s): Donovan, Lincoln
• Assistant Examiner(s): RETEBO, METASEBIA T
• Application Number:
  US14/542,487
• Publication Number:
  US 20150130525A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,264 Days
• Field of Search: 327304
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/56 by the use, as active elements, of semiconductor devices using diodes H03K17/74
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 3/57 the switching device being a semiconductor device

Abstract

A nanosecond pulser may include a plurality of switch modules, a transformer, and an output. Each of the plurality of switch modules may include one or more solid state switches. The transformer may include a core, at least one primary winding wound around at least a portion of the core, each of the plurality of switch modules may be coupled with the primary windings, and a plurality of secondary windings wound at least partially around a portion of the core. The output may output electrical pulses having a peak voltage greater than about 1 kilovolt and having a pulse width of less than about 1000 nanoseconds. The output may output electrical pulses having a peak voltage greater than about 5 kilovolts, a peak power greater than about 100 kilowatts, a pulse width between 10 nanoseconds and 1000 nanoseconds, a rise time less than about 50 nanoseconds, or some combination thereof.

Claims

1. A nanosecond pulser comprising:

a plurality of switch modules, each of the plurality of switch modules include one or more solid state switches, wherein a duration of opening and closing of the solid state switches is directly proportional to a pulse width of an input pulse;

a transformer electrically coupled with the plurality of switches comprising;

at least one core;

a primary winding that includes a plurality of single windings that are each wound at least partially around a portion of the at least one core, each of the plurality of switch modules are electrically coupled with one of the plurality of single windings; and

a plurality of secondary windings wound at least partially around a portion of the core; and

an output coupled with the plurality of secondary windings, the output providing an output pulse having a peak voltage greater than about 1 kilovolt and having a pulse width of less than about 1000 nanoseconds, and wherein a pulse width of the output pulse has a duration that is proportional to a duration of a pulse width of the input pulse.

2. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 1, wherein the primary winding comprises a plurality of primary windings wound at least partially around a portion of the core, and wherein each of the plurality of switch modules are coupled with a subset of the primary windings.

3. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 1, wherein the output pulse has a peak voltage greater than about 5 kilovolts.

4. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 1, wherein the output pulse has a peak power greater than about 100 kilowatts.

5. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 1, wherein the output pulse has a rise time less than about 50 nanoseconds.

6. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 1, wherein each of the one or more solid state switches comprises a switch selected from the group consisting of an IGBT, an FET, an SiC junction transistor, and a MOSFET.

7. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 1, further comprising a fast capacitor electrically coupled with the primary winding and at least one of the plurality of switch modules.

8. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 7, wherein less than 50% of the energy in the fast capacitor is drained during each electrical pulse.

9. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 7, wherein the fast capacitor has a stray inductance of less than 100 nH.

10. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 1, wherein the transformer has a stray inductance of less than 100 nH.

11. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of switch modules has a stray inductance of less than 100 nH.

12. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 1, wherein stray inductance within the switch module and the primary winding is less than 100 nH.

13. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 1, wherein stray capacitance within the nanosecond pulser is less than about 100 pF.

14. A nanosecond pulser comprising:

a circuit board;

a transformer having a transformer core disposed on the circuit board, a plurality of primary windings, such that each of the primary windings include a plurality of single windings that are each wound around at least a portion of the core, and a plurality of secondary windings wound around the core; and

a plurality of solid state switches disposed radially around the transformer on the circuit board, each of the plurality of solid state switches are coupled with at least one of the plurality of single windings of the transformer, wherein a duration of opening and closing of the plurality of solid state switches is directly proportional to a pulse width of an input pulse, and wherein an output pulse width from an output coupled with the plurality of secondary windings is directly proportional to the pulse width of the input pulse.

15. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 14, wherein the circuit board includes a plurality of slots through which at least a portion of the secondary windings are wound around the core, wherein at least a subset of the slots are disposed symmetrically around the core.

16. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 14, further comprising a plurality of capacitors disposed on the circuit board, wherein each of the plurality of capacitors are disposed on the circuit board between the core and at least one of the plurality of solid state switches.

17. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 14, further comprising a plurality of diodes disposed on the circuit board, wherein each of the plurality of diodes are disposed on the circuit board between the core and at least one of the plurality of solid state switches.

18. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 14, wherein the secondary windings comprises a single wire wound around the core a plurality of times, and the primary winding comprises a plurality of distinct windings.

19. A nanosecond pulser comprising:

a plurality of solid state switches;

an input electronically coupled with the plurality of solid state switches, wherein the input provides an input pulse signal to the plurality of solid state switches having an input pulse width between 1 ns and 1000 ns and an input pulse repetition frequency greater than 10 kHz, wherein a duration of opening and closing of the plurality of solid state switches is directly proportional to the input pulse width of the input pulse signal;

a transformer having a primary side and a secondary side, the primary side is electronically coupled with the plurality of solid state switches; and

an output electrically coupled with the second side of the transformer, the output configured to produce an output voltage comprising;

an output pulse peak voltage proportional to the input voltage and greater than about 1 kilovolt,

a pulse width of the output pulse that is directly proportional to a pulse width of the input pulse, and

a pulse repetition frequency of the output pulse that is proportional to a pulse repetition frequency of the input pulse;

wherein, in the event of a change to one of the input voltage, the input pulse width, and the input pulse repetition frequency there is a change to only a corresponding one of the output pulse peak voltage, the output pulse width, and the output repetition frequency.

20. The nanosecond pulser according to claim 19, further comprising a transformer having a core, a plurality of primary windings, and a plurality of secondary windings, wherein the plurality of solid state switches are electrically coupled with the primary windings and the and the output is electrically coupled with the secondary windings.