Optical Transconductance Varistor
Category: IT/Electrical
Developers: Opcondys, Inc. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Co-Developers: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
United States
Product Description:The Optical Transconductance Varistor (OTV) is a light-triggered semiconductor power switch enabling higher switching speeds than competitors at previously unattainable voltages to facilitate more efficient grid-scale power conversion, reduce expensive, environmentally-damaging energy losses, and generate the voltages required for medical proton therapy or air disinfection.
Developers: Opcondys, Inc. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Co-Developers: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
United States
Product Description:The Optical Transconductance Varistor (OTV) is a light-triggered semiconductor power switch enabling higher switching speeds than competitors at previously unattainable voltages to facilitate more efficient grid-scale power conversion, reduce expensive, environmentally-damaging energy losses, and generate the voltages required for medical proton therapy or air disinfection.
OTV Fig. 1 Compared to current smart grid control technologies (left), the optically-controlled OTV (right) switches 10 times faster, reducing energy losses by 50% to save one billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year