A photovoltaic high-voltage supply

We describe the development of a photovoltaic high-voltage supply, which transforms low-voltage DC to several kV. The device is noise-free since no use is made of alternating current. A prototype has been constructed to generate a variable voltage between 1.8 and 2.0 kV for the purpose of biasing a photomultiplier tube. The relative output voltage is stable to better than 0.05% for temperatures between 10 and 34 °C and for load currents up to 20 μA.