Inventing the Ultimate Class-E Musical Tesla Coil (Single-FET SSTC) | A Complete Build Tutorial

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Among solid-state Tesla coils, there is a sort of unspoken tier list of difficulty. At the easy end, you have H-bridge SSTCs and slayer exciters, which can basically be assembled and used without too much trouble. At the more difficult end, you have the mighty DRSSTC, and at the farthest end, you have HFSSTCs...these are both notoriously sensitive and hard to get working right. And then, in the middle of the tier list, sits this under-represented circuit: the class-E SSTC.

Class-E SSTCs are kind of a mixed bag when it comes to difficulty: the driver is very simple and cheap to build, but it requires some probing and tuning to get working right. This circuit is also a favorite for small, high-frequency coils, and high frequencies tend to cause their own set of issues. So in today's tutorial, I'll be demystifying this strange single-MOSFET circuit and building my own super-easy version that runs off of an adjustable Schmitt trigger oscillator (as far as I can tell, I'm the first to do this, and it works GREAT)!

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Want to build your own? Here is the PCB I designed for my circuit, free to download!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18yTm...

Want to copy my design? Here are the .stl files used to 3D print my coil's base:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uS6-...

Need help with parts and instructions? Check out my Instructable and Hackaday project pages:
https://www.instructables.com/Making-...
https://hackaday.io/project/188598-ma...

To get your own PCBs for the lowest possible price, I personally recommend using JLCPCB, since you can get five PCBs for only $5 (that's including shipping, which normally costs $20 or more from other sellers).

Be sure to check out my collab partner Tate over on ‪@BackMacSci‬ !

Ryan's video on a similar Schmitt trigger driven class-E SSTC:
   • Micro 3.5MHz Class E HFSSTC w/UCC27524  

He also has several new iterations of this circuit as well over on his channel ‪@Magneticitist‬, so be sure to go check him out!

Have questions about your own Tesla coil or high voltage project? Ask away on the United Tesla Coil Builders Discord server:
  / discord  

Useful websites:
https://classictesla.com/home/javatc3d/
https://www.vn-experimenty.eu/teslov-...
https://www.vn-experimenty.eu/teslov-...
http://uzzors2k.com/index.php?page=4M...
https://stevehv.4hv.org/classEsstc.htm
http://www.richieburnett.co.uk/hfsstc...

I apologize for the details that may not have been expressed clearly in this video. Here are some important details to keep in mind:

1. This circuit CAN run up to 120V, but I don't recommend doing so unless everything is tuned VERY thoroughly, and you're using a lower frequency design with enough primary inductance to sufficiently limit the current and enough capacitance to dampen D-S voltage peaks. Using a SiCFET allowed me to push up to 150V (about 200V when rectified), so silicon carbide FETs might be your best option for higher voltage operation. With standard 500V FETs, however, I recommend no more than 80V.

2. If your circuit shorts out when you crank up the voltage, the 400V TVS diode will almost always die sacrificially in place of the MOSFET.

3. On the PCB, the second, lower-value trimmer potentiometer is just for fine-tuning. If you really wanted to, you could just short the connections and move on without it.

0:00 Intro
1:15 What we want in our circuit
2:55 Our first contender: Steve Ward's class-E
3:47 NextPCB sponsorship segment
4:29 "Electra" prototype (failed)
4:49 The finalized circuit
5:35 BackMacSci explains Schmitt trigger oscillators
7:13 Circuit demo!
8:46 A bad pun
8:58 Circuit stats
9:29 Tuning
11:08 Class-E tuning
12:07 Design tips
13:05 Conclusion + GIVEAWAY!
14:23 Metal outro