Patent ID: 8278936

Claim:
A current pulse generator for coupling a current pulse to a component under test (CUT) having a plurality of electrical connections, comprising: an energy storage network having input, output and ground connections and comprised of passive components that include at least two capacitors and at least one transmission line, wherein a first one of said capacitors is connected between said energy storage network output connection and said energy storage network ground, and wherein the second one of said capacitors has first and second terminals with the first terminal connected to said energy storage network ground connection, and wherein said transmission line has first and second terminals, with said first terminal connected to said energy storage network output connection and said second terminal coupled to said energy storage input connection and to the second terminal of said second one of said capacitors; a power source for generating a voltage signal operatively connected to said energy storage network input; an electrical conduction path comprising signal and ground conductors each having first and second ends and wherein the first end of the ground conductor is connected to said energy storage network ground, and the signal and ground conductors each sized to enable their second ends to be connected to one or more of said CUT electrical connections; and a switch having an open position and a closed position and connected between said energy storage network output and the first end of the signal conductor of said electrical conduction path, said switch acting when in its open position to decouple said energy storage network from the signal conductor of said electrical conduction path, and acting when in its closed position to cause the energy stored in said energy storage network to discharge and transmit the current pulse to the signal conductor of said electrical conduction path whose shape is a function of the values of said passive components and the length of the transmission line.