Short-Pulse Width High-Voltage Bipolar Impulse Generator for DBD-Based 222 nm Excimer Source

In this article, the design and development of a fast rise time high-voltage bipolar impulse generator (HV-BIG) system for a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD)-based coaxial 222 nm excimer radiation source has been carried out for effective plasma generation. Full bridge topology utilizing silicon carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) along with a step-up transformer has been realized for the development of the HV-BIG system. Sectionalized windings were designed to realize the primary and secondary winding of high-voltage transformers. The fabricated high-voltage transformer features a uniform distribution of the primary and secondary windings to minimize leakage inductance. A control algorithm has been implemented to generate 180° phase-shifted gating pulses with suitable pulse repetition frequency and pulsewidth for the full bridge converter. The developed laboratory prototype of the HV-BIG system was experimentally verified with the DBD-based Krypton/Chlorine (Kr/Cl2) excilamp to generate 222 nm radiation with output pulse voltage ranging from ±2.85 to ±8.25 kV. The HV-BIG system has been experimentally tested to generate variable high-voltage bipolar pulse output voltage with a pulse repetition frequency of 31.5 kHz and tunable at two distinct pulsewidth of 1.0 and1.2~μs.