Design and Evaluation of a Compact Silicon Carbide Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch

High Power Lateral Silicon Carbide Photoconductive Semiconductor Switches and Investigation of Degradation Mechanisms

“…Initial experiments in the 1970s utilized Si, and GaAs has continued to be popular since the late 1980s [13], [15], [18]- [20]. The introduction of low defect SiC wafers in the early 2000s has sparked a substantial amount of work in SiC PCSSs due to the feasibility of operation at electric field levels previously unachievable [21]- [29]. Clearly, the material properties of SiC (bandgap: ≈3 eV, theoretical breakdown field strength: 2-4 MV/cm, and thermal conductivity: 3.7 Wcm −1 K −1 ) make SiC a choice at least in principle superior to Si or GaAs for linear mode operation, and well suited for a high power, high repetition frequency PCSS [30].…”

“…PCSSs operated in the intrinsic, linear mode have typically required specific, uncommon laser wavelengths to effectively trigger the PCSS. This therefore necessitates complex optical sources such as dye lasers or optical parametric oscillators (OPOs), which subsequently limit the adaption of PCSS technology [16], [21], [29]. Although intrinsic PCSSs are more efficient than extrinsic PCSSs, both devices when operated in the linear mode still currently require large amounts of laser energy to achieve low ON-state resistances [12], [17], [25], [26].…”

Demonstration of an AlGaN-based solar-blind high-voltage photoconductive switch

“…2 Nowadays, there are three typical types of semiconductors used for PCSSs, including Si, GaAs, and wide bandgap semiconductors. [3][4][5] Compared to Si and GaAs, wide bandgap materials, like SiC and group-III nitrides, have the advantages of larger breakdown electrical field, higher thermal stability, higher electron saturation velocity, and higher radiation tolerance, making them more suitable for fabricating high performance PCSSs working in harsh environment. [6][7][8] Meanwhile, due to the existence of the solar-blind wavelength region, Al x Ga 1Àx N (x > 0.35)-based PCSSs with cutoff wavelength less than 280 nm are intrinsically immune to the solar background noise.…”

A compact 45 kV curve tracer with picoampere current measurement capability

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] The upper voltage limit of commercially available curve tracers ranges from 3 kV 11 to 10 kV 12 which is suitable for many power semiconductor devices; however, some novel devices operate at voltages far exceeding 10 kV thus requiring characterization at higher levels. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19] In reverse blocking, these devices can have very small leakage currents requiring precise picoamp measurement with simultaneous high voltage (>10 kV) operation.…”