A compact 10 kv impulse source for calibrating fast impulse voltage measurement systems

Accurate and traceable calibration of high-voltage fast impulse measurement systems is becoming more and more important due to increasing demand for traceable measurements of this type of impulses. To establish such a calibration capability, a generator producing fast high-voltage impulses with front times of tens to hundreds of nanoseconds and peak voltages of tens to hundreds of kilovolts is essential. This paper presents the development of a 10 kV impulse generator. The fast and reliable switching of the discharging circuit using a custom-designed solenoid switch with tungsten electrodes is described. Various electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) measures are also discussed. The short term stability of the generator was investigated. It was found that the standard deviations of the mean values of peak voltage, front time, and time to half-value were within 0.7%, 4.7%, and 1.0%, respectively. Such short term performance is considered adequate for the generator to be used for calibrations by comparison, where the contribution of the stability of the generator to the measurement uncertainty can be minimised by simultaneously measuring each impulse with the reference system and the system under calibration.