High Voltage Power Supplies

New Era High Voltage Power Supplies

There is no generally accepted statement or definition concerning how a voltage must be for it to be considered a high voltage. That notwithstanding, a supply of power involving an output of 1000 volts and above is always termed to be high. In the same vein, an output of 0 to 100 volts is also termed to be of low voltage. The identification of a power supply with the output between 100 volts to 1000 volts as being high or low is therefore usually influenced by the application.

Functions and Capabilities:

High voltage power supplies are quite indispensable. They are capable of regulating voltage and current and they are usually adjustable from 0Vdc to a rated output voltage supply and then, from 0ma to a rated output current.  It is, therefore, often recommended that the return of the high-voltage DC output is always connected to a chassis ground for safety reasons.

These voltage supplies can also be used as steady current or steady voltage sources.  They are usually programmed remotely using resistance or voltage has features and capability for output check and remote monitoring. All connections for monitoring on a modular high voltage supplies are usually on a pluggable terminal which serves as a remote connector and making room for a convenient wiring and easy, rapid connect and disconnect.

A Current Regulated High Voltage Supplies:

Ideal High-voltage supplies are usually voltage regulated depending on the power setting or load. That means that throughout the output range, the output voltage will always remain steady or constant. Most high voltage power sources may be used in different high voltage applications such as x-ray tubes, plasma tubes, negative ion generators, laser tubes, etc. There are some designers and manufacturers of high voltage supplies which are designed specifically to have output voltages as high as 50KV with HV insulation systems. Some come with switching phase systems for efficiency and low stored energy such as excimer lasers. Some supplies also have directly charged Marx generators and inbuilt inverters, extensive protection against any fault with custom 1/O interface.

The application of a high voltage is an important step in the separation process and electro kinetic injection (EK). EK injections are usually performed on microchip electrophoresis (ME) with three different kinds and varieties of modes. That is the pinched, unpinched and gated. In any of the scenarios, different kinds of potential values can be applied to one or more channels to regulate the separation process and also the injection of small sample volumes. For this reason, there is a need for the designing and construction of good and reliable HV power supplies.

Some HV supplies are integrated with a transmitter 1 MW CW klystron with operation levels at 704 MHz some of these supplies are part of an Energy Recovery and Linear Accelerator laboratory experiment to be carried out at BNL involving several years. These supplies can also provide up to 100KV at a current of 21A full load. They don’t need short circuits as the steady switching mechanism leaves behind, a stored energy to be distributed in moments of shut downs.