Simulation and prototyping of saturable magnetic switch for current pulse compression

Abstract

Inductors utilizing the nonlinear properties of ferromagnetic materials may also be made to perform as switches. These function as magnetic switches which decrease the circuit impedance for the compression of current pulses in time domain. These have been employed in pulsed power applications such as radars and lasers. The nonlinear inductor being robust, relatively inexpensive and having a comparatively long lifetime, have an advantage for operation in certain applications over the conventional switches. In this paper, the authors have developed a magnetic switch which utilizes an inexpensive and readily available material – M5 electrical steel as saturable core.