Electro-optic measurement of GaAs switch voltage during optically activated avalanche

Author

Adams, J.C. ; Ferrier, S.G. ; Falk, R.A. ; Capps, C.D.

Author_Institution

Boeing Defense and Space Group, Seattle, WA, USA

Volume

41

Issue

5

fYear

1994

fDate

5/1/1994 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

655

Lastpage

660

Abstract

The dynamic turn-on voltage of a bulk GaAs photoconductive switch in a microstrip transmission line was measured for the first time using the electro-optic effect of the switch itself. The technique used a 905 nm laser trigger synchronized with a pulsed 1.06 μm probe beam. The GaAs voltage was found to collapse through zero following avalanche and depletion of the transmission line charge. A circuit model including contact lead inductance and an assumed rapid device recovery is developed which produces qualitative agreement with experimental observations

Keywords

III-V semiconductors; electro-optical devices; equivalent circuits; gallium arsenide; impact ionisation; measurement by laser beam; optical modulation; photoconducting devices; semiconductor device models; semiconductor device testing; semiconductor switches; voltage measurement; 1.06 micron; 905 nm; GaAs; GaAs switch voltage; bulk GaAs photoconductive switch; circuit model; contact lead inductance; dynamic turn-on voltage; electro-optic measurement; laser trigger; microstrip transmission line; optically activated avalanche; Gallium arsenide; Laser modes; Lasers and electrooptics; Microstrip; Optical pulses; Optical switches; Photoconductivity; Time measurement; Transmission line measurements; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9383

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/16.285012

Filename

285012