Development of Solid-State LTD Module Using Silicon Carbide MOSFETs

Linear transformer driver (LTD) is a relatively new circuit method for pulsed power generation. Solid-state LTD-based generators are being developed for industrial applications. A key issue on LTD performance is its efficiency. An LTD module using silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs has been developed, aiming at reducing the circuit loss and improving the overall efficiency. This article reports the experimental results on comparison between the LTD modules using silicon MOSFETs and SiC MOSFETs. The intent is to quantitatively confirm the advantage of using SiC power devices on LTD, before we decide to build a multimodule LTD system.