Abstract: A high-speed high-voltage FET current interrupter which opens the cathode circuit of microwave tubes when internal tube arcing occurs. By removing the detrimental fault current which causes degradation to the microwave tube body and grid, the longevity of the microwave tube and the pulse energy storage capacitor is greatly increased over those transmitters which use dissipative crow bar circuits. Even more important is that the transmitter reset time after an arc occurs is orders of magnitude faster than transmitters using crow bars or primary power interrupters when arcing occurs--an important feature when engaged in a "dog fight".

Abstract: The high voltage regulator employs a field effect transistor (FET) amplifier and a shielded wide band frequency compensated RC voltage divider. The device comprises a FET amplifier used as a current source in a 20 KV power supply. The negative output of the supply is sensed by the voltage divider consisting of two resistors in parallel with two capacitors for frequency compensation. The voltage divider output is applied to the non-inverting input of an operational amplifier whose reference is set to affect the linear operation of an inverting operational amplifier. In the voltage divider, a variable high voltage quartz glass piston capacitor is used to set the RC product of the high level arm equal to that of the low level arm.

Abstract: The high voltage regulator employs a field effect transistor (FET) amplifier and a wide band frequency compensated RC voltage divider. The device comprises a FET amplifier used as a current source in a 20 KV power supply. The negative output of the supply is sensed by a voltage divider consisting of two resistors in parallel with two capacitors. The voltage divider output is applied to the non-inverting input of an operational amplifier whose reference is set to affect the linear operation of an inverting operational amplifier. A no load to full load and line regulation of 0.1% is provided to a microwave tube. For a 16-KV regulated output the inverting amplifier must have a dc operation point of 4 KV to accommodate a 20% storage capacitor voltage droop and a .+-.5% line change. At this level the inverting amplifier provides a swing of .+-.4 KV. This range allows for a large line voltage variation and storage capacitor voltage droop.

Abstract: A cascode radio frequency amplifier in which a control amplifier stage is provided and any number of clone amplifier stages are connected in series (cascode) with the control amplifier. The cascode amplifiers provide equal voltage and power since each of the clone stages provides unity gain. The device can operate from low frequencies to high frequencies.

Abstract: A high voltage pulse regulator which is capable of measuring and correcting voltage perturbations on the top of a high voltage square wave pulse is disclosed. The regulator uses: a rectifying diode, an oscilloscope, a variable zener diode, a variable biasing current source and pulse capacitor. The rectifying diode receives and rectifies the high voltage square wave pulse from a high voltage pulse source to produce a rectified square wave pulse. The rectified square wave pulse is received and regulated to a voltage level acceptable to the oscilloscope by the variable zener diode pulse capacitor, and current source, which are connected together in a parallel circuit and act as follows. The variable zener diode is activated by the biasing current.

Abstract: This high voltage linear FET amplifier operates at voltage levels of ten's of thousand's of volts with power dissipation capabilities in the kilowatt range. It is a broadband device which features power amplification from DC to frequencies well in excess of 100 KHz. The amplifier uses a unity-gain inverting amplifier as its basic building block. N-number of these building blocks are stacked to accommodate whatever voltage stand-off level is desired. To operate stacked high voltage amplifiers, it is necessary to provide a bias shift (reference) progressively increasing in equal increments from the ground reference stage to the highest voltage level stage while preserving the fidelity of the signal applied to the first stage. This is done by establishing a phantom ground at all amplifiers for each progressive bias level.

Abstract: A High Voltage Regulation apparatus which uses an amplifier having an arbitrarily large number of stacked MOSFETs to provide low impedance shunt regulation with a "domino effect". Voltages of many kilovolts can be conveniently regulated. voltage sharing among the devices is assured by the domino arrangement. External capacitances are added to optimize low impedance voltage regulation, including an external capacitor connected between the drain and gate of each stage to equalize the drain to gate and gate to source capacitances. There may also be an external capacitor connected between the drain and source of each stage to provide low amplifier impedance at high frequency, or a lumped external capacitor connected across the entire amplifier string, to provide low amplifier impedance at high frequency. The amplifier uses a unity-gain inverting amplifier as its basic building block. N-number of these building blocks are stacked to accommodate whatever voltage stand-off level is desired.

Abstract: A high-voltage FET pulser for a synthetic aperture radar transmitter includes an FET ON switch and a tail biter switch both on the floating deck and coupled to a pulse driver circuit through a transformer having a quartz glass tube isolating the secondary winding from the core and primary winding. An active shunt regulator circuit is connected to the output of the FET ON switch to provide a flat output pulse free of ringing.

Abstract: The reduction of non-monotonic degradation characteristics induced in the output signals in high-power applications of a transformer which has a primary winding and n secondary windings which have a total of N turns, where n and N are integers, is accomplished by replacing the n secondary windings with m replacement windings, where m is an integer less than n. When the replacement windings have a total of N turns, they produce an output signal with reduced degradation normally caused by stray capacitance and inductance leakage in the secondary windings.

Abstract: A high-voltage converter circuit which uses a slip slide power conditioner to reduce non-monotonic non-linearities in the converter output signal is disclosed. The slip slide power conditioner includes: a choke feed D.C. circulator; two radio frequency (RF) power pumps; a phase detector; a phase controller; and a combiner. The choke feed D.C. circulator receives the D.C. input signal and produces therefrom two voltage output signals which are each sent to one of the two RF power pumps. The two RF power pumps produce two out-of-phase square wave output signals which are algebraically combined in the combiner to form an output signal whose amplitude is a function of phase difference. The phase detector and phase controller sample this output signal and adjust the phase of the two power pumps to remove non-linearities due to secondary ranging (resonance) that beats with harmonics of their square wave signals.

Abstract: A programmable slewing power supply is used to drive microwave phase shifters according to a command signal from a system controller using: a Milberger converter; a power source; a rectifying circuit; two differential amplifier circuits; and two comparator amplifier circuits. The Milberger converter outputs a combined square wave which it produces by combining two independent square waves which add or cancel. The power source receives the combined square wave and outputs: a reference voltage, a positive voltage signal; and a negative voltage signal. The rectifying circuit produces a rectified command signal by rectifying the command signal from the system controller. The two differential amplifier circuits respectively measure the positive and negative voltage signals with respect to the reference voltage to produce a measured positive voltage signal, and a measured negative voltage signal.

Abstract: A field effect transistor (FET) quadrature switch for the control of multi mode microwave phase shifters provides bi-directional random mode switching while using only one power supply. The switch apparatus provides high speed, high voltage, and high-current switching while reducing the stand off voltage requirement of the linear driver, the number of switching elements which are required for mechanization, and reducing the size, weight and the complexity of the apparatus.

Abstract: A "Spacercore" design is used to provide the cores of the electromagnets which are used to bias ferrite slabs in phase shifters of a high power RF attenuator. The phase shifters require a given flux to provide a phase shift from zero to 90.degree.. With laminations of high permeability silicon steel, the core weight may be substantially reduced by including a filler comprising spacers of non-magnetic material (such as lightweight transformer pressboard. With 14-mil silicon steel laminations and 64-mil spacers, this construction provides a core which weighs 25 percent of a full ferrite core for the same flux density.

Abstract: A MOSFET isolation amplifier apparatus to allow stable high frequency linear operation of MOSFET power stages and to provide precise regulation of a load current through a magnetic yoke load. Variations of transfer characteristics and input parameters in the MOSFET power stages are corrected by use of a feedback signal which is generated in a current sense resistor by the load current. Such a power stage allows the implementation of isolation amplifiers which can provide high power high frequency linear regulation at elevated voltages and currents.

Abstract: A pulsed modulator apparatus having a ground deck clock driver unit to provide pulse stretching and on-off trigger signals for a floating deck transistor switch unit. Voltage isolation is achieved between the ground and floating deck units through the use of trigger transformers.

Abstract: A low level input pulse signal from T.sup.2 L logic is delivered to the it of a ground deck driver which is transformer-coupled to a floating deck driver. The leading edge of the input pulse serves to enable or trigger a first FET driver, which is coupled to the gates of a plurality of series-connected FETs via a first transmission line transformer. The triggering of the FET driver serves to turn-on the series-connected FETs so that the same delivers a high voltage signal to an output load. A second FET driver is coupled to the gates of another plurality of series-connected FETs, which serve as a "tail-biter" to terminate the power to the output load. And, a third FET driver is coupled to the gates of the first-mentioned series-connected FETs to turn the same to the OFF state. The second and third FET drivers are coupled to their respective series-connected FETs via respective transmission line transformers.

Abstract: An improved choke feed is provided for minimizing the inductive fly-back tage phenomenon at the inputs of voltage chopper circuits. By using directional shunts, fly-back energy is recovered and passed through to the chopper circuit for improved efficiency.

Abstract: An electrical power converter comprising two current-fed square wave chops the outputs of which are combined and rectified to yield a variable and regulated output voltage. The phase relationship of the choppers are varied to achieve output voltage control and regulation. The chopper outputs are combined in such a way that the choppers never experience the open-circuit inductance of their output transformers. This enhances frequency agility. A novel choke feed system is provided in which the choke flyback energy is absorbed and then transferred to the input of the other chopper.

Abstract: A low voltage trigger pulse is coupled to a three-stage driver which genees therefrom a high amplitude (e.g., 20 amp.) decaying current spike of predetermined width. The current pulse or spike from the driver is coupled to the gates of a multiplicity (i.e., 12) of parallel-connected field effect transistors (FETs) to turn or switch the same to the "ON" state. A laser diode array is series-connected with the parallel connected FETs so that when the latter is switched ON a very high (100 amp.) current pulse is delivered to the laser diode array to enable the same. At the cessation of the pulser current drive, a passive pull-down technique is used to enhance the turn-off of the parallel-connected FETs so that the laser diode array is quickly disabled. A protective overload circuit sets a limit to the average current through the laser diode array without affecting the pulse burst current.

Abstract: The light weight non-saturating spaced core inductor that is made of altete layers of magnetic and light weight non-magnetic materials to provide a structure that is light in weight yet has the non-saturating inductor characteristics required for certain circuits that are subject to over-load.