Patent ID: 6963087

Claim:
A bidirectional switch of pulse-controlled bistable type, including: a monolithic semiconductor circuit formed from a lightly-doped N-type substrate having a rear surface coated with a metallization connected to a reference voltage, including: a vertical bidirectional switch structure provided with a first gate terminal, and having its main electrode on the front surface side connected to a load and to an A.C. power supply; a horizontal thyristor structure including an upper layer of the vertical bidirectional switch, the substrate, a first P-type region formed in the substrate, and a second N-type region formed in the first region; a second gate terminal connected to one of the first and second regions, the other one of the first and second regions being connected to the reference voltage; a capacitor connected to the first gate terminal and to the A.C. power supply; and a switch for short-circuiting the capacitor.