Pulse Voltage Measurement

Ultrafast pulses can be measured by a resistive divider or a capacitive divider (Sect. 17.1). In terms of the ease of construction and characterization, the resistive divider is a better choice. The divider is typically consisted of a high value resistor and a 50 Ω resistor, designed to match the impedance of a standard coaxial cable. The configuration and related issues of such a divider is discussed in Sect. 17.2. With robust resistors, the divider can be used to measure high voltage, nanosecond pulses. For shorter pulses, a coaxial structure that houses resistors with low inductance can be used. One such a resistor divider for subnanosecond pulses is shown in Sect. 17.3.