Ranking of SOS-based Technology

Fig. 20.

Figure 20 shows the place occupied by SOS-based devices in the coordinates "voltage-pulse length" (a) and "current-pulse length" (b) among other major technologies of switching and generation of high-power nanosecond pulses in circuits employing an inductive storage and an opening switch (for the sake of comparison shown also are powerful semiconductor closing devices). The abbreviations stand for the following: POS ( plasma opening switches); EEW (electrically exploding wires); DSRD ( drift step recovery diodes); RSD ( reverse switched dynistor); FT ( fast thyristor). It is seen that in the nanosecond time interval SOS devices serve as a sort of a link closing a huge gap with respect to the value of the pulse voltage and current between most powerful installations based on plasma opening switches and electrically exploding wires on the one hand, and semiconductor generators on the other hand.