Performance of Lateral 4H-SiC Photoconductive Semiconductor Switches by Extrinsic Backside Trigger

Photoconductive semiconductor switch(PCSS)can be applied in pulsed high power systems and microwave techniques.However,reducing the damage and increasing the lifetime of silicon carbide(SiC)PCSS are still faced severe challenges.In this study,PCSSs with various structures were prepared on 4-inch diameter,500μm thick high-purity semi-insulating 4H-SiC substrates and their on-state resistance and damage mechanisms were investigated.It was found that the PCSS of an Au/TiW/Ni electrode system annealed at 950℃had a minimum on-state resistance of 6.0Ωat 1 kV bias voltage with a 532 nm and 170 mJ pulsed laser by backside illumination single trigger.The backside illumination single trigger could reduce on-state resistance and alleviate the damage of PCSS compared to the frontside trigger when the diameter of the laser spot was larger than the channel length of PCSS.For the 200 s trigger test by a 10 Hz laser,the black branch-like ablation on Au/TiW/Ni PCSS was mainly caused by thermal stress owing to hot carriers.Replacing metal Ni with boron gallium co-doped zinc oxide(BGZO)thin films annealed at 400℃,black branch-like ablation was alleviated while concentric arc damage was obvious at the anode.The major causes of concentric arc are both pulsed laser diffraction and thermal effect.

Experimental Study of Surface Flashover Field of SI-GaAs Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch

With its unique features, photoconductive semiconductor switch (PCSS) is generally recognized today as a promising power electronic device. However, a major limitation of PCSS is its surprisingly low voltage threshold of surface flashover (SF). In this paper, an experimental study of surface flashover of a back-triggered PCSS is presented. The PCSSs with electrode gap of 18 mm are fabricated from liquid encapsulated czochralski (LEC) semi-insulating gallium arsenide (SI-GaAs), and they are either un-coated, or partly coated, or en- tirely coated PCSSs with high-strength transparent insulation. The SF fields of the PCSSs are measured and discussed. According to the experimental results, the high-dielectric-strength coating is efficient in both reducing the gas desorption from semiconductor and increasing the SF field: a well-designed PCSS can resist a voltage up to 20 kV under the repetition frequency of 30 Hz. The physical mechanism of the PCSS SF is analyzed, and the conclusion is made that having a channel structure, the SF is the breakdown of the contaminated dielectric layer at the semiconductor-ambient dielectric interface. The non-uniform distribution of the surface field and the gas desorption due to thermal effects of semiconductor surface currents are key factors causing the SF field reduction.

Peculiar Photoconduction in Semi-Insulating GaAs Photoconductive Switch Triggered by 1064nm Laser Pulse

The peculiar photoconduction in semi insulating GaAs photoconductive switch being triggered by 1064nm laser pulse is reported.The gap between two electrodes of the switch is 4mm.When it is triggered by laser pulse with energy of 0 8mJ and the pulse width of 5ns,and operated at biased electric field of 2 0 and 6 0kV/cm,both linear and nonlinear modes of the switch are observed respectively.Whereas the biased electric field adds to 9 5kV/cm,and the triggered laser is in range of 0 5～1 0mJ,the peculiar performed characteristic is observed:the switch gives a linear waveform firstly,and then after a delay time of about 20～250ns,it outputs a nonlinear waveform again.The physical mechanism of this specific phenomenon is associated with the anti site defects of semi insulating GaAs and two step single photon absorption.The delay time between linear waveform and nonlinear waveform is calculated,and the result matches the experiments.

Ultra-Wideband Electromagnetic Radiation from GaAs Photoconductive Switches

The experiment results of ultrawide band electromagnetic radiation with DC biased GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch combining double ridge horn antenna triggered by high repeat frequency femto-second laser pulse are reported.The GaAs switches are insulated by solid multi-layer transparent dielectrics and the distance of two electrodes is 3mm.The electrode material of the switch is ohmic contact through alloy technics with definite proportion of Au/Ge/Ni.This switch and double ridge horn antenna are integrated and the receive antenna is connected with the test instrument.From receiving antenna,ultra fast electrical pulse of 200ps rise time and 500ps pulse width is obtained,the repetition rate of the pulse is about 82MHz and the frequency spectrum is in the range of 4.7MHz～14GHz.The radiation characteristic of the ultrafast electrical pulse is analyzed.

Delayed-Dipole Domain Mode of Semi-Insulating GaAs Photoconductive Semiconductor Switches

A mode for the periodicity and weakening surge in semi-insulating GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switches is proposed based on the transferred-electron effect. It is shown that the periodicity and weakening surge is caused by the interaction between the self-excitation of the resonant circuit and transferred electron oscillation of the switch. The bias electric field （larger than Gunn threshold） across the switch is modulated by the AC elec-tric field,when the instantaneous bias electric field E is swinging below Gunn electric field threshold ET but grea-ter than the sustaining field Es （the minimum electric field required to support the domain） at the time of the do-main reaching the anode, and then the delayed-dipole domain mode of switch is obtained. It is the photon-activated carriers that satisfy the requirement of charge domain formation on carrier concentration and device length prod-uct of 10^12 cm^-2,and the semi-insulating GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch is essentially a type of pho-ton-activated charge domain device.

Optically Activated Charge Domain Model for High-Gain GaAs Photoconductive Switches

A model for theoretical analysis of nonlinear (or high gain) mode of photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS's) is proposed.The switching transition of high gain PCSS's can be described with an optically activated charge domain. The switching characteristics including rise time,delay and their relationship to electric field strength,optical trigger energies are discussed.The formation and radiation transit,accumulation of the charge domain are related with the triggering and sustaining phases of PCSS's,respectively.The results of the mathematical model on this mechanism agree with experimental results.

Transit Properties of High Power Ultra\|Fast Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch

Experiments of a GaAs ultra\|fast Photo\|Conductive Semiconductor Switch (PCSS) are reported. Both the linear and nonlinear modes were observed when triggered by the μJ nano\|second laser. The peak current could be as high as 560A. The rise time of the current pulse responses is less than 200ps when triggered with 76MHz femto\|second laser.

Transient Characteristics of a Nonlinear GaAs Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch

The transient resistance,voltage,and power of a nonlinear GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch （PCSS） are presented by the finite difference formula to deal with the experiment data, based on the conversation of energy in the switch circuit. This method resolves the problem of directly measuring the transient characteristics of PCSS in nonlinear mode. The curve of transient voltage shows that the average electric field of PCSS in the lock-on period is always higher than the Gunn threshold,and increases monotonically. By comparing the transient power curves of the PCSS and the electrical source,it is demonstrated directly that the power shortage leads to the PCSS from the lock-on state into the selfturnoff state,so a controllable turnoff of the PCSS in lock-on by changing the distribution of the circuit power is predicted.

Investigation of GaAs Photoconductive Switch Irradiated by 1553nm Laser Pulse

Gallium arsenide (GaAs) photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS's) with a 1.55mm gap spacing trigged by 1553nm femtosecond fiber laser pulse is presented.The switches are biased with 3.33～10.3kV/cm and irradiated by femtosecond fiber laser operated at a wavelength of 1553nm with pulse width of 200fs and pulse energy of 0.2nJ.The experiments show that,even if the semi-insulating GaAs photoconductive switch operates under the electrical field of 10.3kV/cm,it will be still linear response,and a clear corresponding output electric pulse with the peak voltage of 0.8mV is captured.From the weak photoconductivity on laser intensity,photoabsorption mediated by EL2 deep level defects is suggested,as the primary process for the photoconductivity.

Photoconductive semiconductor switch-based triggering with 1 ns jitter for trigatron

Synchronization for multiple-pulse at nanosecond range shows a great value on the power multiplication and synchronous electric fieldsapplications. Nanosecond or sub-ns jitter synchronization is essential for the improved working efficiency of the large amounts of pulse modulesand accurate requirements for the power coherent combining applications. This paper presents a trigger generator based on a laser diodetriggered GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch (PCSS) with low jitter and compact size characteristics. It avoids the high currentsthat are harmful to high-gain mode PCSSs. In the trigger circuit, a 200 pF capacitor is charged by a microsecond-scale 18 kV pulse and thendischarged via the high-gain mode GaAs PCSS to trigger the high-power trigatron switch. When triggered by the ~10 ns pulse generated by thePCSS, the DC-charged trigatron can operate in the 20e35 kV range with 10 ns rise time and 1 ns delay-time jitter.

Roles of voltage in semi-insulating GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch

An experimental study of leakage current is presented in a semi-insulating（SI） Ga As photoconductive semiconductor switch（PCSS） with voltages up to 5.8 kV（average field is 19.3 kV/cm）. The leakage current increases nonlinearly with the bias voltage increasing from 1.2×10^-9 A to 3.6×10^-5A. Furthermore, the dark resistance, which is characterized as a function of electric field, does not monotonically decrease with the field but displays several distinct regimes. By eliminating the field-dependent drift velocity, the free-electron density n is extracted from the current, and then the critical field for each region of n（E） characteristic of PCSS is obtained. It must be the electric field that provides the free electron with sufficient energy to activate the carrier in the trapped state via multiple physical mechanisms, such as impurity ionization, fielddependent EL2 capture, and impact ionization of donor centers EL10 and EL2. The critical fields calculated from the activation energy of these physical processes accord well with the experimental results. Moreover, agreement between the fitting curve and experimental data of J（E）, further confirms that the dark-state characteristics are related to these field-dependent processes. The effects of voltage on SI-Ga As PCSS may give us an insight into its physical mechanism.

Application of an Al-doped zinc oxide subcontact layer on vanadium-compensated 6H–SiC photoconductive switches

Al-doped ZnO thin film （AZO） is used as a subcontact layer in 6H-SiC photoconductive semiconductor switches （PCSSs） to reduce the on-state resistance and optimize the device structure. Our photoconductive test shows that the onstate resistance of lateral PCSS with an n＋-AZO subcontact layer is 14.7% lower than that of PCSS without an n＋-AZO subcontact layer. This occurs because a heavy-doped AZO thin film can improve Ohmic contact properties, reduce contact resistance, and alleviate Joule heating. Combined with the high transparance characteristic at 532 nm of AZO film, vertical structural PCSS devices are designed and their structural superiority is discussed. This paper provides a feasible route for fabricating high performance SiC PCSS by using conductive and transparent ZnO-based materials.

Photovoltaic Response Characteristics of GaAs Photoconductive Switches Under High Gain Mode

Given is the experiment results in which the laser pulses of 1 046 nm and 532 nm are used to trigger the semi-insulation GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch(PCSS) with an electrode distance of 4 mm. And made is an analysis of the switchs photovoltaic response characteristics under the high gain mode when the biased field is bigger than the Geng effect field. Also a theory is presented that the main reason for the photovoltaic pulse response delay is the transmission of charge domain, caused by the presence of EL2 energy level in the chip material. Finally, the transmission time of charge domain is calculated and a result that inosculates with the experiment is attained.

Experimental Research on Inhibition of Surface Flashover Based on High Power Gallium Arsenide Photoconductive Switches Triggered by Laser

Semi-insulating gallium arsenide （GaAs） photoconductive semiconductor switches （PCSS） have great potential for high voltage switching application, however, the utility is restricted by surface flashover which wouId result in breakdown. In this paper, a model of photo-activated charge wave was proposed based on the theory of photo-activated charge domain （PACD） in GaAs PCSS, and moderate suppression of PACD formation by loading the semiconductor surface with dielectric material was investigated theoretically and experimentally. Current as high as 3.7 kA was obtained at 28 kV, implying that this method can effectively inhibit the surface flashover and improve the service life of DC charged GaAs PCSS.

Modeling of terahertz pulse generation from LT-GaAs ultrafast photoconductive switches

The technique of terahertz pulses generated from the photoconductive switches has been applied in the ultrafast electrical pulse metrology recently.A lumped-element theoretical model is established to describe the performance of the LT-GaAs ultrafast photoconductive switch used in the ultrafast pulse standard.The carrier transport processes of the photoexcited semiconductor,the attenuation and dispersion during terahertz pulse propagating are considered in the theoretical model.According to the experimental parameters,the waveforms of the generated terahertz pulses are calculated under optical excitations with different wavelengths of 840 nm and 450 nm,respectively.And comparisons between the theoretical results and the experimental results are carried out.

DEVELOPMENT OF PHOTOCONDUCTIVE SWITCH AND ITS APPLICATIONS

The picosecond photoconductive switches are developed and used to detect the pulse laser waveform. By using the photoconductive switches, an novel lab model of ultra-wide band(UWB) radar is also developed. The experimental results are given to show the performances of the switches and the UWB radar.

激光能量分布对GaN基光导开关导通特性的影响

光斑是影响光导开关导通特性的重要因素之一。探索了激光能量分布对光导开关输出特性的影响,分别采用高斯光和平顶光对同一GaN光导开关导通特性进行了对比测试。结果表明,由于平顶光具有更均匀的能量分布,相比于高斯光触发,在相同外加偏置电压(800 V)下,电压转换效率提升了6.8%。在激光能量为500μJ时的平顶光触发下进行了加压测试,最大峰值输出电压为4550 V,此时输出功率达到414 kW,上升时间为420 ps,下降时间为5 ns,导通电阻为13.7Ω。

基于砷化镓光电导开关的双极性固态脉冲功率源

设计了一种基于砷化镓(GaAs)光电导开关(PCSS)的双极性固态脉冲功率源。通过对两级脉冲形成线(PFL)结构端反射系数的研究,分析了单极性正、负脉冲以及双极性脉冲产生的波过程,并采用PSpice工具开展电路仿真研究。研究了输入端电阻阻抗对脉冲拖尾的影响,提出了脉冲拖尾调制和脉冲宽度调制的方法。基于体结构GaAs PCSS和两级脉冲形成线结构,搭建了电阻隔离的脉冲充电实验平台,采用光路分时触发技术对光电导开关导通时序进行调控。实验结果表明,所研制的双极性固态脉冲功率源在2.5 kV偏压下可产生峰峰值达3.26 kV、脉宽5.6 ns、重复频率1 kHz的双极性纳秒冲激脉冲,验证了将雪崩GaAs PCSS与多级波拓扑结构PFL结合产生双极性纳秒冲激脉冲的可行性。

弱光触发下GaAs光电导开关的载流子输运和热失效机制

弱光触发下高倍增砷化镓光电导开关(GaAs PCSS)内以丝状电流为表现形式的载流子输运机制对其瞬态工作特性和寿命研究有重要意义。该文基于有限元方法构建了GaAs PCSS的物理模型,结合丝状电流的生热机制对1.5μJ弱光触发下开关的瞬态输出电流和晶格温度进行了仿真分析,考察了偏置电场对GaAs PCSS输出特性的影响。通过不同时刻开关内部的瞬态电场、电子浓度和晶格温度等方面研究了高倍增模式下GaAs PCSS的光生载流子输运过程和损伤机理。结果表明,高密度丝状电流的存在伴随于高场畴的产生和发展。开关内部电场越高,负微分效应引起的载流子聚束现象越明显,相应的电子浓度和晶格温度值也越高;在浓度达1017 cm^(-3)数量级的等离子体通道中,阳极附近电场强度和晶格温度最大值分别为220 kV/cm和821.92 K。

异面结构雪崩GaAs光导开关的制备及特性测试

雪崩砷化镓光导开关(PCSS)因其超快开关速度、低触发抖动、光电隔离、高功率容量、高重复频率以及器件结构灵活的特点,得到广泛应用。制备封装了电极间隙为5 mm的异面结构GaAs光导开关,对不同偏置电场下(36~76 kV/cm)开关的暗态和开态的电学特性进行了测试分析,结果表明其具有百皮秒~纳秒量级的上升沿、低暗态泄漏电流(0.15~6.61μA)、高耐压(18~38 kV)的特点。实验探究了开关工作次数与输出电压峰值的关系,结果表明随着工作次数的增大,输出电压幅值呈台阶型降低趋势,在20 kV、2 Hz条件下,开关寿命达4.0×10^(4)次。