A high voltage multiplier using stacked hybrid Cockcroft–Walton/Dickson multipliers

Abstract

A high voltage multiplier is one of the most important components for shockwave non-thermal food processing systems. In the design of the high voltage multiplier for shockwave non-thermal food processing systems, not only high voltage gain but also high speed operation and low voltage stress of circuit components are required. In this paper, a novel high voltage multiplier with stacked topology is proposed for shockwave non-thermal food processing systems. Unlike conventional high voltage multipliers, the proposed multiplier is designed by stacking hybrid Cockcroft-Walton/Dickson multipliers (HCWDMs). In the proposed multiplier, high speed operation is achieved, because the stacked topology can reduce the number of multiplier stages. Furthermore, voltage drop of higher multiplier stages and voltage stress are mitigated by the stacked topology using HCWDMs. The validity of the circuit design is confirmed by the laboratory experiments regarding the prototype of the shockwave non-thermal food processing system. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed multiplier can generate about 3.9 kV within 113 s by converting the ac input 100 V at 60 Hz.