High voltage cascaded semiconductor amplifier including feedback and protective means

Claim 1

A LINEAR SEMICONDUCTOR AMPLIFIER FOR PROVIDING OUTPUT VOLTAGE LARGER THAN THOSE WHICH CAN BE PROVIDED BY A SINGLE SEMICONDUCTOR COMPRISING: A LOW IMPEDANCE SOURCE OF INPUT SIGNALS OF PREDETERMINED WAVEFORM INCLUDING INPUT MEANS FOR PROVIDING SAID SIGNALS AND A MULTISTAGE PREAMPLIFIER FOR AMPLIFYING SAID SIGNALS COUPLED WITH SAID INPUT MEANS, SAID PREAMPLIFIER INCLUDING FEEDBACK MEANS COUPLED BETWEEN STAGES THEREOF FOR IMPROVING LINEARITY OF THE AMPLIFIER SIGNALS AND INCLUDING A LOW IMPEDANCE COUPLING CIRCUIT FOR DEVELOPING SAID AMPLIFIER SIGNALS; FIRST AND SECOND SOURCES OF DIRECT CURRENT OPERATING POTENTIAL AND A SOURCE OF FIXED REFERENCE POTENTIAL; FIRST AND SECOND PLURALITIES OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES INCLUDING A COLLECTOR EMITTER CURRENT PATH AND A CONTROL ELECTRODE FOR CONTROLLING CURRENT IN SAID PATH, THE PATHS OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES OF SAID FIRST PLURALITY BEING CONNECTED IN SERIES TO PROVIDE A DYNAMIC FIRST CONDUCTOR WITH ONE ELECTRODE OF THE PATH OF A FIRST OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES OF SAID FIRST PLURALITY FORMING A FIRST TERMINAL OF SAID FIRST CONDUCTOR AND ONE ELECTRODE OF THE PATH OF A SECOND OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES OF SAID FIRST PLURALITY FORMING A SECOND TERMINAL OF SAID FIRST CONDUCTOR, THE PATHS OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES OF SAID SECOND PLURAITY BEING CONNECTED IN SERIES TO PROVIDE A DYNAMIC SECOND CONDUCTOR WITH ONE ELECTRODE OF THE PATH OF A FIRST OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES OF SAID SECOND PLURALITY FORMING A FIRST TERMINAL OF SAID SECOND CONDUCTOR AND ONE ELECTRODE OF THE PATH OF A SECOND OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES OF SAID SECOND PLUALITY FORMING A SECOND TERMINAL OF SAID SECOND CONDUCTOR, FIRST AND SECOND LOAD IMPEDANCE ELEMENTS BEING RESPECTIVELY CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID FIRST TERMINALS AND SAID FIRST SOURCE OF DIRECT CURRENT OPERATING POTENTIAL, AND ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK MEANS BEING COUPLED BETWEEN ONE OF SAID FIRST TERMINALS AND SAID PREAMPLIFIER FOR IMPROVING LINEARITY OF SAID OUTPUT VOLTAGES; BIASING MEANS FOR EACH OF SAID SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES INCLUDING AN ADJUSTABLY TAPPED IMPEDANCE ELEMENT CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID SOURCE OF FIXED REFERENCE POTENTIAL AND SAID SECOND SOURCE OF DIRECT CURRENT OPERATING POTENTIAL AND INCLUDING A STABILIZED VOLTAGE SOURCE FOR EACH OF SAID SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES OTHER THAN SAID SECOND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES AND A BIAS CURRENT-DETERMINING IMPEDANCE ELEMENT CONNECTED BETWEEN EACH OF SAID STABILIZED VOLTAGE SOURCES AND THE CONTROL ELECTRODE OF THE CORRESPONDING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE, SAID BIAS CURRENT-DETERMINING IMPEDANCE ELEMENT CONNECTED TO EACH OF SAID CORRESPONDING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES OF SAID FIRST PLURALITY BEING PROPORTIONED AND THE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES OF SAID FIRST PLURALITY BEING MATCHED WITH RESPECT TO CURRENT GAIN TO PROVIDE SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL INSTANTANEOUS VOLTAGE DROPS ACROSS EACH OF SAID DEVICES OF SAID FIRST PLURALITY, AND SAID BIAS CURRENT-DETERMINING IMPEDANCE ELEMENT CONNECTED TO EACH OF SAID CORRESPONDING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES OF SAID SECOND PLURALITY BEING PROPORTIONED AND THE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES OF SAID PLURALITY BEING MATCHED WITH RESPECT TO CURRENT GAIN TO PROVIDE SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL INSTANTANEOUS VOLTAGE DROPS ACROSS EACH OF SAID DEVICE OF SAID SECOND PLURALITY; CIRCUIT MEANS FOR DETERMINING CURRENT FLOW IN SAID CONDUCTORS AND PROVIDING OPPOSITELY PHASE CHANGES IN CURRENT MAGNITUDE THEREIN IN RESPONSE TO SAID INPUT SIGNALS INCLUDING CONDUCTOR CURRENT-DETERMINING IMPEDANCE ELEMENT CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID SECOND TERMINAL OF SAID SECOND CONDUCTOR AND SAID SOURCE OF INPUT SIGNALS AND INCLUDING ANOTHER CONDUCTOR CURRENT-DETERMINING IMPEDANCE ELEMENT CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID SECOND TERMINAL OF SAID FIRST CONDUCTOR AND SAID SECOND SOURCE OF DIRECT CURRENT OPERATING POTENTIAL, SAID CONTROL ELECTRODE OF SAID SECOND SEMICONDUCTOR OF SAID FIRST PLURALITY BEING CONNECTED TO SAID LOW IMPEDANCE COUPLING CIRCUIT, AND SAID CONTROL ELECTRODE OF SAID SECOND SEMICONDUCTOR OF SAID SECOND PLURALITY BEING CONNECTED TO AN INTERMEDIATE TAP OF SAID ADJUSTABLY TAPPED IMPEDANCE ELEMENT; AND UNILATERALLY CONDUCTING PROTECTIVE MEANS CONNECTED BETWEEN EACH OF SAID STABILIZED VOLTAGE SOURCES AND THE COLLECTOR ELECTRODE OF THE CURRENT PATH OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING SAID CORRESPONDING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE FOR LIMITING THE INSTANTANEOUS COLLECTOR-EMITTER VOLTAGE OF SAID PRECEDING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE TO LESS THAN BREAKDOWN POTENTIAL.