Patent ID: 9742394
Date: 2017-08-22
CPC Classifications: H03K

Claim:
1. A high-voltage, high-current solid-state closing switch, comprising: a thyristor stack comprising two or more thyristors arranged in a series and/or parallel arrangement, the thyristor stack having an anode terminal and a cathode terminal; a blocking diode having an anode terminal and a cathode terminal, wherein the anode terminal of the blocking diode is electrically connected to the cathode terminal of the thyristor stack; a trigger capacitor having a first terminal and a second terminal, wherein the first terminal is electrically connected to the cathode terminal of the thyristor stack and the anode terminal of the blocking diode which enables charging of the trigger capacitor through the blocking diode; a field-effect transistor having a drain electrically connected to the second terminal of the trigger capacitor and a source electrically connected to the cathode terminal of the blocking diode; a means for charging the trigger capacitor to below the maximum reverse hold-off voltage of the blocking diode; and a means for applying a voltage between the anode terminal of the thyristor stack and the cathode terminal of the blocking diode, such that the voltage applied to the thyristor stack is less than the self-break voltage of the thyristor stack; wherein the thyristor stack is switched on when a trigger is applied to the gate terminal of the field-effect transistor, thereby closing the field-effect transistor and shorting the second terminal of the trigger capacitor to low voltage, thereby causing a transient reduction of the voltage at the cathode terminal of the thyristor stack and the anode terminal of the blocking diode, thereby causing the voltage applied to the thyristor stack to exceed the self-break voltage.