Testing of a 130kA 10kV Light Activated Semiconductor Switch

Summary form only given. The testing of compact and modular light activated semiconductor switch (LASS) is described. The LASS is based on a high voltage custom thyristor structure manufactured by OptiSwitch Technology Corporation. Light from a fiber coupled semiconductor laser is coupled into the switch using eight leaky optical fibers. This allows a large area switch to be activated with a minimum number of optical fibers. Test results of a 10 kV modular based switch (2" times 6" times 3") have demonstrated a peak current of 130 kA in a 100 mus pulse width. A 520 kA switch can be realized by arranging this basic unit in parallel but physically in series. The size of this super-LASS is only 3.7" times 6" times 5.5" and weighs just 10 lbs.