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Segmented poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] (MEH-PPV)-x's, which contain conjugated segments of varying lengths that are interspersed by nonconjugated units along the polymer backbone, were synthesized by selective thermal elimination of precursors containing controlled amounts (x) of a thermally labile group, namely, xanthate or dithiocarbamate (DTC). These precursors were in turn synthesized by competitive nucleophilic substitution of the Wessling polyelectrolyte with varying molar fractions of the respective nucleophiles-potassium ethyl xanthate or sodium diethyl dithiocarbamate. Methanol, used as the reaction medium, also served to introduce the second thermally less labile nucleophilic substituent. This approach for the preparation of segmented MEH-PPV-x is superior to the previous approach that used acetate as the thermally labile group, because it offers greater control over the composition despite a simpler synthetic procedure. Detailed studies of the thermal-elimination kinetics of the three precursors, namely, acetate, xanthate, and DTC, both in solution and in thin films, were carried by in situ monitoring of their ultraviolet-visible spectra. These studies revealed that the rates of elimination followed the order, DTC Ͼ xanthate Ͼ acetate. The activation energies for the elimination were, however, not widely different (ca. 30 kcal/mol), suggesting that the rates primarily reflected differences in the pre-exponential factor. After elimination, the segmented MEH-PPV-x samples exhibited the expected redshift in their absorption and fluorescence spectra with an increasing molar fraction (x) of eliminated segments, which was accompanied by a drastic reduction in the fluorescence quantum yields.

The shot to shot variation in perveance of a planar diode with explosive emission graphite cathode in a range of accelerating gaps 3–12 mm is investigated experimentally. The typical electron beam parameters were 200 kV, 12 kA, 100 ns, with a few hundreds of A/cm2 current density. The diode perveance remains less than the Child–Langmuir value, indicating that only a fraction of the cathode take part in the emission process. A simple statistical analysis of the diode perveance shows that the shot to shot variation is more pronounced for the later part of the accelerating pulse. The cathode plasma expansion velocity and the effective initial emission area have been calculated from the perveance data. It was found that the plasma expansion velocity varies from 3 to 6.5 cm/μs. The mean expansion velocity and the standard deviation increase with the increase in the accelerating gap. The initial emission areas also varies randomly on a shot to shot basis and at the beginning of the accelerating pulse only 4%–35% of the cathode area take part in the emission process. The mean initial emission area and the standard deviation also increase with the increase in the accelerating gap. Experimental result indicates that the larger gaps and lower electric fields suggest a path to more uniform emission.

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The characteristics of an asymmetrical duty cycle (ADC) controlled LCL-T resonant converter operating at the resonant frequency are studied by solving the state-space model of the converter. Four operating modes are identified having different circuit waveforms representing different device conduction sequences, thereby creating different conditions during the device switching. The mode boundaries are obtained and plotted on the D-Q plane. A region on the D-Q plane is identified for the converter design, where the switches operate under zero-voltage-switching condition. A prototype 500 W, 100 kHz converter is designed and built to experimentally demonstrate the operating modes, control characteristics, and performance of ADC-controlled LCL-T resonant converter. Index Terms-Current supplies, dc-dc power conversion, pulsewidth modulation (PWM), resonant power conversion.

High power electron beam generation studies were carried out in a planar diode configuration to investigate the effect of the accelerating gap, diode voltage, and anode-cathode materials on the electrode plasma expansion. The diode voltage has been varied from 145–428 kV, whereas the current density has been varied from 208–2215 A/cm2 with 100 ns pulse duration. It was found that the diode voltage and current follow the bipolar space-charge limited flow model. The anode and cathode plasma expansion velocities were calculated using the perveance data. The plasma expands at 11 cm/μs for 34 mm anode-cathode gap and the plasma velocity decreases for smaller gaps. It was found that the plasma expansion velocity increases significantly due to the cathode edge contribution and the edge contribution is particularly important during the beginning and the end of the accelerating pulse when the diode voltage and the corresponding electric field are comparatively low. It was also observed that the diode current increased by a factor of 3 when anode material was released into the accelerating gap due to the electron beam bombardment.

High power microwave (HPM) generation studies were carried out in KALI-5000 pulse power system. The intense relativistic electron beam was utilized to generate HPMs using a coaxial virtual cathode oscillator. The typical electron beam parameters were 350 kV, 25 kA, and 100 ns, with a few hundreds of ampere per centimeter square current density. Microwaves were generated with graphite and polymer velvet cathode at various diode voltage, current, and accelerating gaps. A horn antenna setup with diode detector and attenuators was used to measure the microwave power. It was observed that the microwave power increases with the diode voltage and current and reduces with the accelerating gap. It was found that both the peak power and width of the microwave pulse is larger for the velvet cathode compared to the graphite cathode. In a coaxial vircator, velvet cathode is superior to the graphite cathode due to its shorter turn on time and better electron beam uniformity.