Compact, nanosecond, high repetition rate, pulse generator for bioelectric studies

The high dielectric strength and high permittivity of water allow for its use for energy storage and switching in compact pulse power systems. A 10-Omega pulse generator with flowing water as dielectric and as the switching medium is presented here. It can provide a 10-ns pulse with a risetime of approximately 2 ns and an amplitude of up to 35 kV into a matched load. The system was operated in burst mode with repetition rates of up to 400 Hz, limited by the charging power supply. For a switch with two pin electrodes, strong electrode erosion limits the use of the pulser to less than 1,000 pulses before electrode readjustment is necessary. A considerable reduction of the erosion effect on breakdown voltage was obtained with coaxial electrodes. The pulse generator was used to study the effect of the repetition rate (or the time between successive pulses) on the viability of B16 murine melanoma cells.