Abstract
The Korean Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) tokamak device is being constructed to perform long-pulse, high-beta, advanced tokamak fusion physics experiments. The long-pulse operation requires the non-inductive current drive system such as the Lower-Hybrid Current Drive (LHCD) system. The LHCD system drives the non-inductive plasma current by means of C-band RF with 2-MW CW power and 5-GHz frequency. For the LHCD test experiments, an RF test system is developed. It is composed of a 5-GHz, 1.5-MW pulsed magnetron and a compact pulse modulator with $4\;{\mu}s$ of pulse width. The pulse modulator provides the maximum output voltage of 45 kV and the maximum current of 90 A. It is composed of 7 stages of Pulse Forming Network (PFN), a thyratron tube (E2V, CX1191D), and a pulse transformer with 1:4 step-up ratio. In this paper, the detailed design and the performance test of the pulse modulator are presented.