Mosmatrix-a replacement for thyratrons

A high-speed on-off switch using MOS devices has been developed. These devices are arranged in a matrix, `wide´ enough to handle the specified current and tall enough to block the maximum voltage. Switching times of less than 100 ns have been measured for a 200 A, 7.5 kV switch. Jitter was less than 2 ns. The peak current of 200 A exceeds the manufacturer´s specification by almost a factor of 3. It would thus be reasonable to expect rapid degradation of the devices. However, since the peak current specification may be exceeded by 300% in the parallel mode without any immediate adverse effects being evident, it is probably safe to operate the devices in parallel at 100% of the peak current limit. Derating the devices for parallel operation is probably unnecessary