The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 17, 2001
Filed:
May. 04, 1999
Pan Min, Uppsala, SE;
Mark Irwin, Västerås, SE;
Erik Johansson, Västerås, SE;
Mats Ekberg, Västerås, SE;
Anders Sunesson, Åkarp, SE;
Hans Bernhoff, Västerås, SE;
Jan Isberg, Västerås, SE;
Peter Isberg, Västerås, SE;
Åke Öberg, Uppsala, SE;
ABB AB, Vasteras, SE;
Abstract
A photoconductive switch comprises a first layer (,), two contact layers (,) arranged on said first layer and connectable to different potentials for applying a voltage thereacross, said first layer being adapted to be conducting upon applying a voltage across said contact layers when exposed to light from an illumination source of an energy high enough for lifting charge carriers from the valence band to the conduction band of the material of said first layer. The illumination source is an excimer lamp, in which unstable electronically excited dimers are formed when a voltage is applied across first and second electrodes (,) separated by a gas or gas mixture. The dimers so formed decompose into two gas atoms while emitting a photon of an energy suitable for lifting charge carriers from the valence band to the conduction band of the material of the first layer.