Analysis of the on-state resistance of photoconductive semiconductor switches in the non-linear mode

Excellent performances such as ultrafast rise-time, low jitter, good synchronization and high electric-field strength make photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSSs) have a wider prospect of application. Among other parameters, it is very important to evaluate the on-state resistance of the PCSS. In this paper, the influence of bias voltage, on-state current and trigger position on the on-state resistance of GaAs PCSS is described. We extracted the relationship between the elements mentioned above and the on-state resistance from our experimental data. The on-state resistance decreases with increasing bias voltage as well as increasing on-state current. The best trigger position was evaluated to be on the cathode. The on-state resistance increases as the trigger position shifts from cathode to anode gradually. The experimental results are further discussed in this paper.