Simple and compact capacitive voltage probe for measuring voltage impulses up to 0.5 MV.

The paper describes a simple and compact 0.5 MV high-voltage capacitive probe developed in common by Université de Pau (France) and Loughborough University (UK). Design details are provided, together with a simple and straightforward methodology developed to assess the characteristics of high-voltage probes. The technique uses a 4 kV pulsed arrangement combined with results from a 2D electric field solver and a thorough PSpice circuit analysis. Finally, a practical example of high-voltage measurement performed using such a probe during the development phase of a high power microwave generator is provided.