Nanosecond switching using power MOSFETs

It is shown that using the secondary breakdown effect of a bipolar transistor, often called an avalanche transistor, the large input capacitance of a power MOSFET may be charged very quickly. A power MOSFET driven by an avalanche transistor is used to generate electrical pulses of >800 V into 50 Ω with rise times of approximately 3 ns. The output pulse amplitude can be varied by adjusting the drain-source voltage of the power MOSFET. The trigger delay of this circuit is approximately 5 ns, with jitter of <100 ps. This circuit has been used to generate pulses at a repetition rate of greater than 1 kHz.