Title :
High current photoconductive semiconductor switches
Author :
Loubriel, G.M. ; O´Malley, M.W. ; Zutavern, F.J. ; McKenzie, B.B. ; Conley, W.R. ; Hjalmarson, H.P.
Author_Institution :
Sandia Nat. Lab., Albuquerque, NM, USA
Abstract :
It is shown that Si photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSSs) can be used to switch high voltages (up to 123 kV), high fields (up to 82 kV/cm) and high currents (2.8 kA). The ability of the samples to withstand this type of high-voltage, high-current switching depends on the way in which the current penetrates the semiconductor. The appropriate use of water or contacts greatly improves the switching capability. It is also shown that the wafers can support large currents (4.0 kA for GaAs and 2.8 kA for Si) and large linear current densities (3.2 kA/cm for GaAs and 1.4 kA/cm for Si). For GaAs, this linear current density corresponds to about 1 MA/cm2, given a penetration depth of about 10-3 cm. It is determined that the lock-on phenomenon can be triggered with light of varying photon energy to reach a lock-on field that is both impurity-concentration and sample-temperature dependent
Keywords :
photoconducting devices; pulsed power technology; semiconductor switches; 0 to 123 kV; 2.8 kA; 4 kA; GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switches; Si photoconductive semiconductor switches; impurity-concentration; linear current densities; lock-on phenomenon; sample-temperature dependent; Circuit testing; Flashover; Gallium arsenide; Laboratories; Photoconducting devices; Power semiconductor switches; Pulse circuits; Semiconductor lasers; System testing; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
Power Modulator Symposium, 1988. IEEE Conference Record of the 1988 Eighteenth
Conference_Location :
Hilton Head, SC
DOI :
10.1109/MODSYM.1988.26289
