Dual polarity MV Marx generator system

Two compact MV Marx generators are arranged to fire into a common spark gap and designed to deliver pulsed voltages in excess of 3 MV. Each generator is characterized by 40 stages of 8.1 nF capacitance and a charge voltage from 20 - 40 kV, which results in an erected voltage of up to 1.6 MV and pulse energies of more than 250 J. Each generator has an integrated controllable power supply and pressure control, and is battery powered. The two generators are charged with opposite polarity voltages, which can result in a differential pulsed magnitude of 3.2 MV. A central thyratron trigger source is remotely located and is designed for delivering two simultaneous high voltage trigger pulses to each generator. Design considerations are presented, as well as experimental results.