Analysis of Spark Gap Shape Effect on the Output Voltage Waveform of Blumlein Bipolar Pulse Former

Nowadays, producing high voltage ultra-narrow bipolar pulse is considered in many applications. Considering the antenna or load, a bipolar pulse generator has many advantages compared to a unipolar pulse generator. Therefore, a high-power bipolar pulse generator has become a goal in the field of pulsed power. To achieve this goal, producing a bipolar pulse from a unipolar pulse is an important issue. Blumlein pulse generator is a widely used bipolar pulse generator with good performance. One of the issues in this pulse generator is the effect of spark gaps’ shape on the waveform of the output pulse. In this paper, a Blumlein bipolar pulse former has been considered, simulated and analyzed with different spark gap types. The effect of parasitic capacitance of these spark gaps in the transmission lines has been considered. The results of simulations can be used to design a bipolar pulse generator with acceptable output voltage waveform.