Hybrid power switch concept

Although there are a number of excellent high pulsed power switches ranging from FETs to thyratrons to SCRs, each different type of switch suffers from constraints related to the physics of that type of switching technology. A hybrid high-power electronic switching module consists of a combination of well-chosen switching elements working together to optimize the switching over the entire cycle. Each aspect of switching-turn on, conduction and turn off-can be handled by a power device that is best suited to that function. Thus, for certain applications, it is possible to develop a hybrid power switch with superior performance in efficiency as compared to existing monolithic power switches. While hybrid power switches offer gains in conduction efficiency, they have the drawback of a lower operating frequency and higher degree of complexity and cost. As a result, hybrid switches are well suited for applications requiring long conduction times with thermal cooling problems coming from high conduction losses. The general issues relating to hybrid switch and switch configurations are presented and discussed.