Ferroelectric opening switch

Patent Number:	10,431,280
Issued:	10/1/2019
Official Filing:	View the Complete Patent
Abstract:	A ferroelectric opening switch is enabled by controlled polarization switching via nucleation in a ferroelectric material, such as BaTiO.sub.3, Pb(Zr,Ti)O.sub.3, LiNbO.sub.3, LiTaO.sub.3, or variants thereof. For example, nucleation sites can be provided by mechanical seeding, grain boundaries, or optical illumination. The invention can be used as an opening switch in large scale pulsed-power systems. However, the switch can also be used in compact pulsed-power systems (e.g., as drivers for high power microwave systems), as passive fault limiters for high voltage dc (HVDC) systems, and/or in other high power applications.
Filed:	4/25/2016
Application Number:	15/137,539
Government Interests:	STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-NA0003525 awarded by the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. The Government has certain rights in the invention.