Patent ID: 7460379

Claim:
A circuit comprising: a rectifier circuit responsive to a variable voltage signal having a peak voltage corresponding to a DC bus voltage level; a voltage multiplier circuit connected to the rectifier circuit to receive an output signal from the rectifier circuit, the voltage multiplier circuit comprising first and second voltage storing circuits configured to each respectively store a voltage level corresponding to a first multiple of the DC bus voltage level, and further comprising a peak voltage holding circuit connected to the first and second voltage storing circuits to accumulate a voltage level corresponding to a second multiple of the DC bus voltage level; and a voltage pulse module comprising a transformer connected to the voltage multiplier circuit through a primary winding to selectively receive the voltage accumulated at the peak voltage holding circuit and generate a voltage pulse having a desired amplitude at a secondary winding of the transformer, wherein a voltage multiplier effect achieved by the multiplier circuit with respect to the DC bus voltage level enables at least one of the following: a reduction from a given turn-ratio in the transformer for generating the voltage pulse with the desired pulse amplitude, and a reduction in the DC voltage level while maintaining the given turn-ratio in the transformer for generating the voltage pulse with the desired amplitude.