Prefire identification for pulse power systems

Claim 1

A prefire detection system for a high-power, high-frequency, multi-stage pulse generator, said prefire detection system comprising: a plurality of pulse timing transmitters, each pulse timing transmitter thereof associated with and tailored to an individual stage of the multi-stage pulse generator, each pulse transmitter for sending an optical signal upon detection of a pulse; a plurality of fiber optic cables, each fiber optic cable thereof associated with an individual pulse timing transmitter in said plurality thereof for receiving and transmitting therefrom said optical signal sent upon detection of a pulse; a plurality of pulse timing receivers, each pulse timing receiver thereof associated with an individual fiber optic cable in said plurality thereof, each pulse timing receiver for receiving an optical signal transmitted by its associated individual fiber optic cable and for converting each received optical signal into an electrical pulse; an OR gate inputted by all pulse timing receivers in said plurality thereof for combining all electrical pulses therefrom; a time interval measuring device having a plurality of time interval measuring channels, each time interval measuring channel thereof associated with an individual pulse timing receiver in said plurality thereof for receiving therefrom an electrical pulse for stopping a time interval measurement therewith, said time interval measuring device also associated with said OR gate for starting all time interval measurements with the first electrical pulse combined therein, wherein said time interval measuring device provides an output signal representative of the time interval measurement for each channel.