Application of avalanche transistors to circuits with a long mean time to failure

This paper intends to give circuit designers a survey of the performance limits of transistors in the avalanche region and show their practical use in reliable long-lived devices. The most important problems encountered when designing special circuits are discussed in detail. In particular, the conditions for obtaining reflection-free rectangular pulses are presented. Furthermore, criteria for choosing the proper transistor types are given, and some rather suitable types are specified. Finally, different methods of parallel and series operation for large current and voltage pulses, respectively, are discussed and demonstrated.