Compact solid state klystron power supply

A high voltage pulse generating circuit, comprising:

• a source of D.C. power having positive and negative terminals;
• a flyback transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding, the primary winding having first and second terminals for connection to the source of D.C. power;
• sensing circuitry for generating a signal indicative of current flowing in the primary winding, the signal indicating the amplitude of the current;
• and
• a solid state switching circuit for coupling the positive and negative terminals of the source of D.C. power to the first and second terminals of the primary winding of the flyback transformer in response to a control signal and for decoupling the D.C. power source from the primary winding in response to the signal indicating that a predetermined level of current is flowing in the primary winding, the solid state switching circuit comprising at least one conduction path for directing energy stored in a leakage inductance associated with the flyback transformer into the D.C. power source.