journal article·2025-01-10Open access

Photoconductive Semiconductor Switches: Materials, Physics, and Applications

Vincent Meyers, Lars Voss, Jack D. Flicker, Luciano Garcia Rodriguez, Harold P. Hjalmarson, Jane Lehr, Nicolas Gonzalez, Gregory Pickrell, Soroush Ghandiparsi, Robert Kaplar

Applied Sciences· Volume 15· Issue 2

Abstract

Photoconductive semiconductor switching (PCSS) devices have unique characteristics to address the growing need for electrically isolated, optically gated, picosecond-scale jitter devices capable of operating at high voltage, current, and frequency. The state of the art in material selection, doping, triggering, and system integration in PCSSs is presented. The material properties and doping considerations of GaN, GaAs, SiC, diamond, and β-Ga2O3 in the fabrication of PCSS devices are discussed. A review of the current understanding of the physics of the high-gain mode known as lock-on is presented.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Ga2O3 and related materials · GaN-based semiconductor devices and materials · Semiconductor materials and devices

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87123, USA

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, Livermore, CA 94550, USA

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA

Funding

ARPA-E BREAKERS program

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