Patent ID: 8531231

Claim:
A switching device for switching at high operating voltage, the switching device comprising: a first switching arrangement having a first self-conducting switching element, which has a control connector and a first and a second main connector for forming a first switching section, and a second switching arrangement having a first and a second connector for forming a second switching section, the second switching section being wired serially with respect to the first switching section of the first switching arrangement, wherein the second switching arrangement includes an optically triggerable switching element for switching the second switching section of the second switching arrangement so the second switching section becomes conductive, and the second connector is connected with the control connector of the first self-conducting switching element, wherein the optically triggerable switching element is operable to switch a controllable switching element to be conducting or blocking, the controllable switching element being arranged in the second switching section, and wherein a first resistor is controllably wired with the controllable switching element, and the optically triggerable switching element is serially wired together with a second resistor, which is connected parallel with a serial circuit including the first resistor and the controllable switching element.