Patent ID: 7695644

Claim:
A device comprising: two or more electrodes separated by a gap; and a composition of voltage switchable dielectric (VSD) material provided in the gap, the composition of VSD material comprising: a binder having a concentration by percentage of volume that ranges between 5-99%; high aspect ratio (HAR) particles, including HAR particles that are (i) inorganic, (ii) conductive or semi-conductive, and (iii) dispersed as nanoscale particles within the binder, wherein the HAR particles have a concentration by percentage of volume that ranges between 0.01-95%; and a concentration of particles other than HAR particles, the concentration of particles including (i) conductor particles that have a concentration by percentage of volume that ranges between 0-70%, and/or (ii) semiconductor particles that have a concentration by percentage of volume that ranges between 0.0-95%; wherein the HAR particles and said conductor and/or semiconductor particles are uniformly dispersed within the binder, so as to not be agglomerated or lumped together in the binder; wherein the HAR particles and said conductor and/or semiconductor particles are combined to provide said composition with a characteristic of being (i) dielectric in absence of a voltage across the gap that exceeds a characteristic voltage level, and (ii) conductive with application of said voltage across the gap exceeding said characteristic voltage level; and wherein said characteristic voltage level exceeds about 14 volts per mil across the gap.