BASIC OPERATION PRINCIPLES
The generator is a powerful and smart device. In spite of its compact size and
small number of control elements, it implements a lot of operation regimes and
high output power according to user demands. Please read this manual carefully to
familiarize yourself with the basic operation principles.
The generator has open and short load protection as well as overheating
protection. However, it is strongly prohibited to switch on the generator
without an HV output cable or if it is shorter than 5 meters in length.
The generator can operate in a single pulse, continuous, and burst operation
modes, as well as internal or external triggering. The generator’s control system
provides quartz-stabilized pulse sequences for continuous and burst operation in
the internal triggering mode and prevents improper operation in case of external
triggering. The complete lists of the preset frequencies and preset number of pulses
per burst/second are shown in Appendix A.
In all operation modes, the minimum pulse-to-pulse interval is limited to
20 µs, which corresponds to 50 kHz repetition rate. The maximum number
of pulses per second is limited to 1000. Therefore, the maximum frequency
in continuous mode is 1 kHz, and higher repetition rates are available in a
burst mode only. It is recommended to set 100 pulses per burst or less
because the amplitude of the following pulses becomes lower at high rates.
The following operation parameters can be set by the front panel controls:
-FREQUENCY from 1 Hz to 50 kHz, the default value is 100 Hz;
-NUMBER OF PULSES per burst/second from 1 to 1000, the default
value is 1000;
-PULSE ENERGY from 30% to 99%, the default value is 50%.
The continuous mode is activated if the set frequency in Hz is lower than or equal
to the set number of pulses. Otherwise, the burst mode is chosen automatically.
The period of bursts is fixed to one second. So, the FREQUENCY parameter sets
the pulse-to-pulse interval, while the NUMBER OF PULSES sets the burst length
or number of pulses followed by a pause up to the next burst.
The FREQUENCY and NUMBER OF PULSES parameters work as limits
for the external triggering pulses. Therefore, FREQUENCY sets the
maximum external pulse frequency (minimum pulse-to-pulse interval), and
NUMBER OF PULSES sets the maximum number of pulses per second.
So, the generator’s control system prevents overloading and damage to the
generator in case of improper external triggering.
