A Low-Energy-Triggered Bulk Gallium Arsenide Avalanche Semiconductor Switch With Delayed Breakdown

Hu, Long; Su, Jiancang; Ding, Zeyu; Qingsong, Hao

doi:10.1109/led.2015.2475698

Cited by 28 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…2 Later termed "collapsing field domains" (CFDs), 3 these provided an interpretation of the puzzle of superfast switching in high-voltage GaAs BJTs 4 and were later adopted to interpret superfast switching in photoconductive GaAs switches (PCSS) 5 and GaAs avalanche S-diodes. 6 These CFDs were confirmed in various experiments employing the comparison of the measured and simulated voltage and current waveforms, 7,8 temporal profiles of band-to-band emission from the switching channels, 9 and "hot" photon and subterahertz emission. 3 It was found 2 that the principal condition for the existence of CFDs is negative differential mobility (NDM) "at extreme electric fields" at least up to 0.6 MV/cm, a point proven so far only for GaAs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 60%

Collapsing-field-domain-based 200 GHz solid-state source

Vainshtein

Duan

Yuferev

et al. 2019

Applied Physics Letters

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A simple miniature source generating pulse trains with a central frequency of $100 GHz and a duration of 50-100 ps has been demonstrated recently. The source is based on nanometer-scale collapsing field domains (CFDs) generated in the collector of an avalanching bipolar GaAs transistor. The central frequency is determined by the domain transient time across the collector, and thus, a routine increase in the oscillation frequency from 0.1 to 0.3-0.5 THz would require a reduction in the collector thickness by a factor of 3-5. This is not acceptable, however, since it would reduce the maximum blocking voltage affecting the achievable peak current across the avalanche switch. We suggest here a solution to this challenging problem by reducing the CFD travel distance while keeping the collector thickness unchanged. Here, the discovered and interpreted phenomenon of CFD collapse when entering a dense carrier plasma zone made it possible by means of bandgap engineering. A CFD emitter generating $200 GHz wavetrains of $100 ps in duration is demonstrated. This finding opens an avenue for the increase in the oscillation frequency without any reduction in the emitted power, by using a smart structure design.

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confidence: 60%

Collapsing-field-domain-based 200 GHz solid-state source

Vainshtein

Duan

Yuferev

et al. 2019

Applied Physics Letters

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“…The GaAs PCSS has linear mode and nonlinear mode. When the electric field and optical energy of GaAs PCSS meet the threshold conditions, the switch enters the nonlinear mode [4], [5]. At present, with the continuous development of ultra-wideband pulse generation, there are more precise requirements for the output electric pulse of GaAs PCSS under specific conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on Output Characteristics of 20 kV/100 ns Nonlinear GaAs Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch

Wu¹,

Shi²

2023

IEEE Access

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In this paper, the output electric pulse characteristics of gallium arsenide photoconductive semiconductor switch (GaAs PCSS) with bias voltage of 20 kV and pulse width of about 100 ns are studied. By designing the reflection and transmission optical paths, the absorption rate of the trigger optical of the GaAs PCSS at a wavelength of 1064 nm was measured to be 24.8%. When the bias voltage is 16 kV-20 kV, the avalanche multiplication rates of carriers are calculated respectively. The relationship between the output current waveform and the residual charge in the energy storage capacitor is analyzed when the bias voltage is 20 kV. And the trend of GaAs PCSS electric field intensity and current waveform change with time. This research will be helpful for the application design of GaAs PCSS under the nonlinear mode with special requirements, and has important significance for the application of frontier science.INDEX TERMS Gallium arsenide photoconductive semiconductor switch (GaAs PCSS), nonlinear mode, output characteristics.

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“…In the coplanar electrode structure, positive and negative electrodes of the PCSS are normally placed on the same side of the semiconductor material. This electrode configuration provides easy manufacturing, simple semiconductor processing, large laser incident surface between the electrodes, and straightforward adjustment of the space between the electrodes to meet different requirements [13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. However, the surface breakdown of the coplanar electrode structure is more likely to occur under high voltage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breakdown Behavior of GaAs PCSS with a Backside-Light-Triggered Coplanar Electrode Structure

et al. 2021

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The competitive relationship between the surface flashover of the coplanar electrodes and the body current channel was investigated. Breakdown behavior of GaAs photo-conductive semiconductor switch (PCSS) with a backside-light-receiving coplanar electrode structure was studied in this paper. GaAs PCSS was triggered by the laser pulse with an extrinsic absorption wavelength of 1064 nm. Special insulating construction was designed for GaAs PCSS, while the surface of the electrodes was encapsulated with transparent insulating adhesive. Our first set of experiments was at a bias voltage of 8 kV, and the surface flashover breakdown of GaAs PCSS was observed with 10 Hz triggering laser pulse. In the second experiment, at a bias voltage of 6 kV, the body current channel breakdown appeared on the backside of the GaAs PCSS. Compared with these results, the existence of a competitive relationship between the surface flashover breakdown and the body current channel breakdown of the GaAs PCSS was confirmed. When the bias voltage is set within a certain range (just reaching avalanche mode), GaAs PCSS with a backside-light-receiving coplanar electrode structure will undergo the body current channel breakdown. This finding is also consistent with the simulation results.

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A Low-Energy-Triggered Bulk Gallium Arsenide Avalanche Semiconductor Switch With Delayed Breakdown

Cited by 28 publications

References 17 publications

Collapsing-field-domain-based 200 GHz solid-state source

Collapsing-field-domain-based 200 GHz solid-state source

Study on Output Characteristics of 20 kV/100 ns Nonlinear GaAs Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch

Breakdown Behavior of GaAs PCSS with a Backside-Light-Triggered Coplanar Electrode Structure

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