Cryogenic semiconductor-switched thyratron inverter switches for superconducting inductive energy storage systems

摘要

A semiconductor-switched thyratron (SST) concept that uses a light-activated GaAs cathode to eliminate the grid-cathode structure found in conventional thyratron tubes is described. This collapses the size and weight of the SST by an order of magnitude and gives the device an instant-on cold-cathode emission capability. The GaAs cathode supplies emission current through an electron avalanche effect, so that only a low-intensity, short-duration light signal (0.1 mJ at 100 ns) is needed to trigger the device for high-current (10 kA) operation. Consequently the SST has an extremely high switch gain.