Method of and apparatus for increasing the peak output pulse power delivered by capacitor-driven high-power diode and square-loop saturable reactor pulse compression generators with the aid of minority carrier sweep-out circuits within the pulse compression circuit

In a radio-frequency pulse generator comprising a capacitor voltage-discharge-driven series-connected high power solid-state diode and square loop saturable magnetic reactor series-resonant pulse compression circuit for delivering high voltage pulses to a load such as an antenna tuned to said radio frequency, a method of removing limitations on the use of the full voltage rating of said capacitor and thus on the peak power output of said pulse compression circuit caused by minority carrier charge stored in the solid-state diode junction at the time of reverse current saturation of said reactor during the series resonance of said circuit, that comprises, interposing a minority carrier sweep-out circuit in the pulse compression circuit;

• and adjusting the sweep-out circuit to produce a time of recovery of said diode less than said time of reverse current saturation of said reactor, thereby to eliminate said limitations and to permit the use of the full voltage rating of said capacitor to enable the increasing of said peak power output.