Ultra fast, high-power laser-activated switches

Laser fired semiconductor switches have been operated reliably at multi-megawatt power levels with nanosecond rise-times. Pulse currents up to 10,000 amperes and durations from 50 nanoseconds to 40 microseconds were obtained from storage lines charged as high as 1300 volts. In this paper data obtained from several experiments are compared to calculated results from a theoretical computer model. The analysis, reported previously (1), has been extended to include the effects of the initial carrier dynamics during turn-on.