An Investigation into the Next Generation of Ultra High Voltage DC Power Supplies

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing interest, in both academia and industry, for a new generation of power supplies that are capable of producing high currents at ultra-high voltages. Unlike existing technology, these power supplies must have a high power density, making them relatively compact. This work details an investigation into potential technologies that could later be developed into working designs. First, an extensive literature review is undertaken that considers existing high voltage power supplies, and assesses the relative merits of each of them. This is in order to determine which of them shows the greatest potential for further development. It is decided that, of the selected technologies, the insulated core transformer and the cascade transformer have the greatest capacity for further improvement. Both of these types of power supply contain many common components, as they are both variations on the conventional transformer, adapted to overcome problems associated with insulation. A design for a power supply, based on either of these technologies, is proposed; along with a program to develop the high voltage components. As part of this program, a series of simulation studies are undertaken in order to establish which of the chosen technologies is suitable for use in such a design. In addition to this, practical experiments are carried out that establish that printed circuit board based transformer windings are suitable for use in high voltage applications. Finally, it is concluded that, while both technologies are suitable for power supplies that operate at voltages up to a megavolt, only the cascade transformer should be used for voltages above this.

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ORCID for Paul Lewin: orcid.org/0000-0002-3299-2556

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