Cascade Generator

(also Cockcroft-Walton generator), a high-voltage generator that operates on the principle of voltage multiplication. The first such generator was built in 1932 by J. Cockcroft and E. Walton and was used to accelerate ions to high energies. Such generators usually have four to ten stages. A special connection circuit using rectifiers and capacitors makes possible an increase of the voltage in each stage with respect to the preceding stage by twice the voltage amplitude of the high-voltage transformer (by several hundred kilovolts) that is connected to the first stage.

Cascade generators are widely used in high-voltage technology, to test high-voltage equipment, and also in acceleration technology to produce ions with energies of 3–4 million electron volts and higher.