PROPOSAL FOR A SEMICONDUCTOR-TRIGGERED HIGH VOLTAGE SWITCH

A RELIABLE, FAST, INEXPENSIVE HIGH-VOLTAGE SEMICONDUCTOR TRIGGERED SWITCH IS NEEDED TO INITIATE EXPLODING BRIDGEWIRE SYSTEMS. A SWITCH OF THIS TYPE, COUPLED WITH THE NEW "BATCH PRODUCED" SLAPPER DETONATORS WILL LOWER THE COST OF THESE HIGH ENERGY INITIATION SYSTEMS TO THE POINT WHERE THEY ARE COMPETITIVE WITH SQUIB DESIGNS. THE INHERENTSAFETY IN THESE SYSTEMS WILL PERMIT THEIR USE IN LOW-COST S&A DEVICES. QUANTIC INDUSTRIES HAS DEVELOPED SUCH A SWITCH, WHICH CAN REPLACE THE SPARK-GAP TUBES IN EBW SYSTEMS. INITIAL EFFORTS INDICATE THAT REFINEMENTS TO THE DESIGN SHOULD PRODUCE A SWITCH THAT CAN ACHIEVE BETTER THAN 0.1 MICROSECOND SIMULTANEITY WITH LESS THAN 0.4 MICROSECOND TOTAL FIRING DELAY. QUANTIC PROPOSES A DESIGN AND TEST PROGRAM TO DETERMINE: 1) THE SIMULTANEITY OF ONE OR MORE SWITCHES: 2) THE DELAY TO FIRE: 3) THE RELIABILITY OF THE SWITCH: AND 4) THE DESIGN OF AN IMPROVED FIRING UNIT. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY PRODUCING CIRCUIT PROTOTYPES, PERFORMING TESTS AND RELIABILITY CALCULATIONS, AND INVESTIGATING ALTERNATE PACKAGING CONCEPTS AND TRANSISTOR DESIGNS. AN IMPROVED FIRING UNIT PROTOTYPE DESIGN WILL BE BREADBOARDED.