Cockcroft walton multiplier output both AC and DC?

Question

I was watching this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep3D_LC2UzU and I noticed that closer to the end he is probing the upper half of the circuit and the scope is displaying square waves , also on the lower side his diagram shows one can take off DC. start about 14 min in the video you can see it on the board.

Also a separate question, can a CW multiplier be used to step up voltage pulses where one would input a lower voltage pulse and get out a higher one? Or do the capacitors in the circuit spread out the pulse and flatten its steep rise time?

Answer 1

The output of a Cockroft-Walton generator is DC and it takes a while (many cycles) to build up.

See this undergrad thesis, for example:

If you want to generate really high voltage pulses, you can use a Marx generator.

Answer 2

A CW multiplier is used (along with a power oscillator) to step-up a DC voltage from a lower voltage to a higher voltage. It produces DC on its "normal" output but on each stage there will be a pulsing waveform superimposed on the previous stage's DC output.

The pulse remains the same amplitude throughout all the stages except for accumulated diode drops and therefore, it has a tendency to become slightly smaller in amplitude as it passes from stage to stage.

Picture from here.

can a CW multiplier be used to step up voltage pulses where one would input a lower voltage pulse and get out a higher one?

No. Dave has the explanation.