Velocity of current filament at the high gain mode of GaAs power photoconductive switches

Shi, Wei; Ma, Cheng; Hou, Lei; Guo-dong, Xie; Tian, Liqiang; Wu, S.

doi:10.1016/j.physb.2011.06.082

Cited by 11 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The second is ensuring the GaAs photoconductive switch works in a nonlinear mode. According to the filament current streamer model [32], in the early stage of streamer formation, photo-excited charge domains are formed due to the GaAs material's rapid field characteristics. The charge domains can develop into the primary streamer, and a large number of electrons can be gathered in the streamer head, causing distortion in the electric field, which meets the requirements for the electric field electron emission.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrical Characterizations of 35-kV Semi-Insulating Gallium Arsenide Photoconductive Switch

Wang

et al. 2021

Photonics

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In this paper, a three-layer GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch (GaAs PCSS) is designed to withstand high voltage from 20 to 35 kV. The maximum avalanche gain and minimum on-state resistance of GaAs PCSS are 1385 and 0.58 Ω, respectively, which are the highest values reported to date. Finally, the influence of the bias voltage on the avalanche stability is analyzed. The stability of the GaAs PCSS is evaluated and calculated. The results show that the jitter values at the bias voltages of 30 kV and 35 kV are 164.3 ps and 106.9 ps, respectively. This work provides guidance for the design of semiconductor switches with high voltage and high gain.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrical Characterizations of 35-kV Semi-Insulating Gallium Arsenide Photoconductive Switch

Wang

et al. 2021

Photonics

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“…The current filaments can be regarded as a plasma column that contains a large number of electrons and holes. The streamer model [14], [15] is used in this study to explain the current filaments on the surface of GaAs PCSS. The streamer can be divided into two zones: the head of streamer and the radiation zone.…”

Section: A Low Current Casementioning

confidence: 99%

Research on the Failure Mechanism of High-Power GaAs PCSS

Shi

2015

IEEE Trans. Power Electron.

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This paper presents an experimental study on the failure mechanism of high-power Gallium Arsenide (GaAs)-based photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS). Two of the typical failure scenarios of high-power GaAs PCSS are discussed: 1) a failure of a 3-mm-gap GaAs PCSS at output current of 45 A and 2) the failure of two 2-mm-gap GaAs PCSSs at output currents of 1.45 and 1.8 kA, respectively. The failure mechanisms of these two cases are analyzed and summarized as follows: The failure of high-power GaAs PCSS is mainly dominated by the development of current filaments under low output currents. A large number of energetic carriers in the bulk region of the current filament can cause the dot damage. When the dot damage is dense enough to form a continuous chain connecting the PCSS electrodes, a damage path is created and a catastrophic breakdown occurs. The thermal stress is the main cause of the failure of high-power GaAs PCSS under high current scenarios. The stress can cause local microscopic fracture on the surface of PCSS. At the time when these local microscopic fractures reach a critical level, a macroscopic fracture occurs resulting in a disintegration of the high-power PCSS.Index Terms-Power semiconductor switches, semiconductor device breakdown, semiconductor device reliability, semiconductor device thermal factors, semiconductor switches.

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“…Recently developed wide-band-gap semi-insulating semiconductor materials like GaAs [1,2], GaN [3][4][5] or SiC [3,[6][7][8] are used in the production of new semiconductor devices. One kind of such devices are photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSSs).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current status of modelling the semi-insulating 4H–SiC transient photoconductivity for application to photoconductive switches

Suproniuk¹,

Kamiński²,

Kozłowski³

et al. 2017

Opto-Electronics Review

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In this paper we present the current status of modelling the time evolution of the transient conductivity of photoexcited semi-insulating (SI) 4H-SiC taking into account the properties of defect centres. A comprehensive model that includes the presence of six, the most significant, point defects occurring in SI 4H-SiC crystals is presented. The defect centres are attributed to the two kinds of nitrogen-related shallow donors, a boron-related shallow acceptor, deep electron and hole traps, and the Z 1/2 recombination centre. We present the results of the state-of-the-art numerical simulations showing how the photoconductivity transients change in time and how these changes are affected by the properties of defect centres. The properties of defect centres assumed for modelling are compared with the results of experimental studies of deep-level defects in high purity (HP) SI 4H-SiC wafers performed by the high-resolution photoinduced transient spectroscopy (HRPITS). The simulated photoconductivity transients are also compared with the experimental photocurrent transients for the HP SI 4H-SiC wafers with different deep-level defects. It is shown that a high-temperature annealing producing the C-rich material enables the fast photocurrent transients to be achieved. The presented analysis can be useful for technology of SI 4H-SiC high-power photoconductive switches with suitable characteristics.

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Velocity of current filament at the high gain mode of GaAs power photoconductive switches

Cited by 11 publications

References 15 publications

Electrical Characterizations of 35-kV Semi-Insulating Gallium Arsenide Photoconductive Switch

Electrical Characterizations of 35-kV Semi-Insulating Gallium Arsenide Photoconductive Switch

Research on the Failure Mechanism of High-Power GaAs PCSS

Current status of modelling the semi-insulating 4H–SiC transient photoconductivity for application to photoconductive switches

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