Pulse forming network
![A pulse forming network for an Nd:YAG laser rangefinder.](/Images/godic/202502/05/Pulse_forming_network_for_Nd_YAG_laser5409.jpg")
![The Shiva Star device at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, USA, which generates pulsed power for high energy fusion power experiments. Each of the 6 radial arms is a pulse forming line delivering a pulse of energy to the center, whose capacitors store a total of 10 MJ of energy and can create microsecond pulses of 120 kV and 6 million amperes.](/Images/godic/202502/05/Shiva_star5409.jpg")
![Simple charged transmission line pulse generator](/Images/godic/202502/05/Charge_line_animation5409.gif")
![Blumlein generator has advantage that it can generate a pulse equal to the charging voltage V](/Images/godic/202502/05/Blumlein_transmission_line_animation5410.gif")
A pulse forming network (PFN) is an electric circuit that accumulates electrical energy over a comparatively long time, then releases the stored energy in the form of a relatively square pulse of comparatively brief duration for various pulsed power applications. In a PFN, energy storage components such as capacitors, inductors or transmission lines are charged by means of a high voltage power source, then rapidly discharged into a load via a high voltage switch, such as a spark gap or hydrogen thyratron. Repetition rates range from single pulses to about 10 per second. PFNs are used to produce precise nanosecond-length pulses of electricity to power devices such as klystron or magnetron tube oscillators in radar sets, pulsed lasers, particle accelerators, flashtubes, and high voltage utility test equipment.