Patent ID: 8746144

Claim:
An electronic detonator comprising: a detonator housing that integrally packages a chip having a high voltage switch and an initiator, an initiating pellet, a primary energy source, a secondary energy source, and a controller, wherein: the high voltage switch includes: a first switch contact spaced from and electrically isolated from a second switch contact; a trigger element that passes between and is spaced from the first switch contact and the second switch contact, wherein the trigger element is shaped as a repeating pattern of faceted sections that narrow in width and funnel out in width; and a dielectric material that overlies the high voltage switch, including the trigger element, wherein the trigger element shape and dielectric material contribute to establish a desired hold off voltage for the high voltage switch; the initiator is connected in series to the first switch contact of the high voltage switch thus forming a series circuit between the initiator and the high voltage switch; the initiating pellet is positioned relative to the initiator such that functioning of the initiator causes detonation of the initiating pellet; and the controller is operatively configured to function the initiator to detonate the initiating pellet by controlling: the primary energy source to apply a desired primary charge potential to the series circuit including the initiator and the high voltage switch; and the secondary energy source to drive a current through the trigger element that is sufficient to close the high voltage switch by electrically connecting the first switch contact to the second switch contact.