A high-voltage pulser circuit with subnanosecond rise time

A fast (≤1 ns rise time) high-voltage pulser circuit was developed using 2N5551/2N5550 transistors in avalanche mode as switching elements. This circuit has transistors in series stack configuration and provides ∼2 kV amplitude and ≤1 ns rise time into 50 Ω with a 13 ns delay and <500 ps jitter. A simple arrangement to generate two symmetrical opposite polarity pulses from single pulse of either polarity is also presented.