High pulse rate pulse power system with fast rise time and low current

A high pulse rate pulse power source providing pulse power to a pair of electrodes comprising:

• A) a pulse generating circuit, comprising:
• 1) a charging capacitor for storing a charge at voltages in excess of 600 volts,
• 2) a solid state switch, and
• 3) a current limiting inductor;
• for generating electrical pulses with electrical energy in excess of 3 Joules and with peak voltages in excess of 600 volts;
• B) at least two pulse compression circuits, defining a first compression circuit providing a first pulse compression and a second compression circuit providing a second pulse compression, each compression circuit comprising a bank of capacitors and a saturable inductor, said second pulse compression circuit comprising a second saturable inductor having less than 6 turns;
• C) step-up pulse transformer for increasing the peak voltage of the electrical pulses to at least 12,000 volts said pulse transformer comprising a plurality of electrically parallel primary windings and a secondary winding comprises at least one substantially straight conductor;
• D) a very fast regulated power supply for charging said charging capacitor with at least 3 Joules of electrical energy at voltages of at least 600 volts, in less than 400 microseconds, and
• E) a very fast pulse control system comprising a processor for controlling the charging of said charging capacitor to an accuracy of less than one percent at a rate at least 2000 charges per second.