High Power, Light Activated Switching: Experiment And Applications

We present experimental results on the high power operation of light activated silicon junction switches, mounted on a low impedance transmission line structure and which are activated by a Nd:YAG laser to operate in the linear regime. We have operated the switch repetitively at a power level of 118 MW, with a pulse rise time of 32 psec. Two switches have been demonstrated operating coherently in parallel and several switches have operated in series to generate a multi- cycle microwave waveform. The switch has also opened 6.4 kA in 4 ns by sweeping out the photogenerated carriers. Many of these experimental results are records for this class of switch. Taken together, these results demonstrate the superiority and flexibility of the light activated silicon junction switch technology can be employed in pulsed power systems and microwave sources e.g., in electronic warfare, radar and communications.