High-Power Nanosecond Pulses
Bioelectrics is an emerging field focused on the study of how electric fields behave in biological systems. Of particular
recent interest is to understand how living cells might respond to the application of extremely short pulses (on the
order of nanoseconds (10−9 s), and even as short as picoseconds (10−12 s) with exceptionally high voltage and current
amplitudes. The motivation is to treat cancerous cells by zapping them with high-power pulses. The pulse power is
delivered to the cell via a transmission line, as illustrated in Fig. TF4-3. Note that the pulse is about 200 ns long, and
its voltage and current amplitudes are approximately 3,000 V and 60 A, respectively. Thus, the peak power level is
about 180,000 W! However, the total energy carried by the pulse is only (1.8 × 105) × (2 × 10−7) = 0.0036 Joules.
Despite the low energy content, the very high voltage appears to be very effective in destroying malignant tumors (in
mice, so far), with no regrowth