Pulse forming network (pfn) having multiple capacitor units and a common passive output circuit for forming a pulse having a multi-level voltage and a method of forming such a pulse

Abstract

A pulse forming network (PFN), comprising a single common passive output circuit comprising an inductor connected in series to a load and a diode connected in parallel to the load, a plurality of capacitor units set to store a plurality of electrical charges in a plurality of working output voltages, a plurality of switches, each adapted to electrically couple a respective one of the plurality of capacitor units to the common passive output circuit electrically connecting all the switches to the load, and a control unit adapted to operate the plurality of switches to discharge the plurality of charges into the load, via the common passive output circuit, in a sequence ordered to form a regulated energizing pulse having a desired multi-level voltage waveform.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.