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:
Jun. 06, 2006
Filed:
Jul. 01, 2003
David M. Giorgi, Solana Beach, CA (US);
Tajchai Navapanich, San Diego, CA (US);
David M. Giorgi, Solana Beach, CA (US);
Tajchai Navapanich, San Diego, CA (US);
Optiswitch Technology Corporation, San Diego, CA (US);
Abstract
Semiconductor switches, such as thyristors, may be light activated by introducing the light into the switch via a groove having a sloped surface to receive the triggering light. The use of a sloped surface increases the surface path length between points of different electrical potential in the groove and, therefore, reduces the likelihood of electrical breakdown on the groove wall. In one particular embodiment, a light-activated thyristor includes a semiconductor anode layer, an n-base layer, a p-base layer and a semiconductor cathode layer disposed parallel to a thyristor plane. A thyristor axis lies perpendicular to the thyristor plane. A groove having a light refracting side wall extends into the thyristor from the anode layer. A portion of the light refracting side wall is disposed non-parallel to the thyristor plane and to the thyristor axis, and extends in the n-drift layer.