Self-snubbing bipolar/field effect (biofet) switching circuits and method
US4366522A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 2, 1980 |
| Grant date | Dec 28, 1982 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 2, 2000 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03K17/567
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A high-power, solid-state switching circuit includes in a preferred embodiment a first switching device susceptible to damage from excessive peak power dissipation at times of turn-on and turn-off in switching high currents from a relatively high-voltage supply, the first switching device having its main current path connected in parallel with the main current path of a second switching device that is substantially less susceptible to such damage from excessive peak power dissipation, but which has a substantially higher impedance in its main current path than the first device when turned on, the devices complementing one another via the operation of said switching circuit for turning on the second device before the first device, thereby substantially lowering the voltage across the main current path of the first device, allowing the latter to be turned on and turned off with substantially reduced peak power dissipation via the snubbing effect of the second device, and the first device relative to the second device providing substantially reduced power dissipation during the on-state of the switching circuit.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.