One-time electrically-activated switch

摘要

A one-time electrically-activated switch is composed of a cured polymeric binder which contains a powdered conductive material in an amount sufficient to establish particle-to-particle contact throughout the binder and in which the material powder particles have a non-conductive oxide surface sufficient to resist the flow of electricity below a given threshold. When a sufficiently high voltage is applied to the switch, the break-down voltage of the oxide layer is exceeded and avalanche current is permitted to flow. As a result, the oxide layer on the conductive particles breaks down along the break-down path and forms an irreversible low-impedance connection.