• A novel SiC-based light initiated multi-gate semiconductor switch (LIMS) with an optimized n+ layer and multi-light triggered anode design is proposed.
• The saturation laser energy required to trigger the SiC LIMS is significantly reduced from 1.8 mJ to 40 μJ.
• The fabricated SiC LIMS exhibits a forward blocking voltage exceeding 7000 V and a low leakage current of 0.3 μA at room temperature.
• The device achieves a high output current density of 4.25 kA/cm² with a current rise rate (di/dt) greater than 20 kA/μs.