BOOST HIGH-VOLTAGE DC OUTPUTS - PAIR A TV-PROVEN CASCADED VOLTAGE MULTIPLIER WITH A SWITCHER TO EASE HIGH-VOLTAGE POWER-SUPPLY DESIGN

A simple, compact and efficient high-voltage supply is configured by feeding a square wave into a cascaded voltage multiplier. High-frequency square waves, with moderately high voltages at power levels high enough for a supply, are available from the low-cost and dependable circuits developed for switching power supplies. A circuit is shown in which the square-wave frequency is directly proportional to the dc input voltage. Two transistors act only to switch from one half of the center-tapped primary to the other half. This switching creates a voltage square wave across the secondary. This square-wave output is then fed into the multiplier cascade. The performance of the voltage multiplier depends mainly on four distinct factors: the square-wave frequency; the number of stages; the capacitance; and the output current.