Solid-state sequential switching device

Claim 1

A device for switching the channels of a multichannel circuit, made up of semiconductor diodes having the dual property of being conductive beyond a certain threshold voltage applied to their terminals and insulating below said threshold, and of emitting photon radiation in the conductive condition and, conversely, of changing from the insulating condition to the conductive condition under the effect of said radiation when the voltage applied to their terminals is beyond a given value lower than said threshold, comprising a series of such diodes located side-by-side in a row, inserted in said channels, their terminals of a first one polarity interconnected with one another and their terminals of a second other polarity being, the first one, fourth, seventh, etc., the second one, fifth, eighth, etc., the third one, sixth, ninth, etc., respectively connected to sources of voltage for supplying these terminals with regard to the first mentioned terminals with voltage pulses whose magnitude is higher than said given value and less than said threshold value and which succeed one another without interruption or overlap, the photon radiation emitted by each of said diodes, when in radiation emitting condition, irradiating the diodes immediately adjacent it in the row, to the exclusion of all the others, said device further comprising a diode whose terminals have applied in operation a voltage in excess of said threshold and located at the extremity of the row, so as to irradiate the diode of said series of diodes which is adjacent it, thereby irradiating the first diode of said row and making said switching to propagate from channel to channel.

Claim 2

A device for switching the channels of a multichannel circuit, made up of semiconductor diodes having the dual property of being conductive beyond a certain threshold voltage applied to their terminals and insulating below said threshold, and of emitting photon radiation in the conductive condition and, conversely, of changing from the insulating condition to the conductive condition under the effect of said radiation when the voltage applied to their terminals is beyond a given value lower than said threshold, comprising a series of such diodes located side-by-side in a row, inserted in said channels, their terminals of a first one polarity interconnected with one another and their terminals of a second other polarity being, the first one, fourth, seventh, etc., the second one, fifth, eighth, etc., the third one, sixth, ninth, etc., respectively connected to sources of voltage for supplying these terminals with regard to the first mentioned terminals with voltage pulses whose magnitude is higher than said given value and less than said threshold value and which succeed one another without interruption or overlap, the photon radiation emitted by each of said diodes, when in radiation emitting condition, irradiating the diodes immediately adjacent it in the row, to the exclusion of all the others, said device further comprising a diode whose terminals have applied in operation a voltage in excess of said threshold and located at the extremity of the row, so as to irradiate the diode of said series of diodes which is adjacent it, thereby irradiating the first diode of said row and making said switching to propagate from channel to channel.