Title :
Compact Silicon Carbide Switch For High Voltage Operation
Author :
James, C. ; Hettler, C. ; Dickens, J. ; Neuber, A.
Author_Institution :
Center for Pulsed Power & Power Electron., Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX
Abstract :
Vanadium compensated, 6H silicon carbide (SiC) is investigated as a compact, high-power, linear-mode photoconductive semiconductor switch (PCSS) material. SiC is an attractive material due to its high resistivity, high electrical breakdown strength, and long recombination times compared to other photoconductive materials. The PCSS is designed for fast-rise time, low-jitter (sub-nanosecond) operation in a matched 50 mu test bed. Ohmic contacts were applied by physical vapor deposition and initial test utilized an external Nd:YAG laser trigger source. Analysis of the optical properties of Va-compensated SiC and of switch conduction resistance are presented and performance of contact material is discussed.
Keywords :
photoconducting switches; silicon compounds; vanadium; Nd:YAG; SiC; V; YAG laser trigger source; compact silicon carbide switch; contact material; electrical breakdown strength; fast-rise time; high voltage operation; low-jitter operation; ohmic contacts; ohmic test bed; photoconductive materials; photoconductive semiconductor switch; physical vapor deposition; recombination times; switch conduction resistance; Conducting materials; Conductivity; Optical materials; Photoconducting devices; Photoconducting materials; Semiconductor materials; Silicon carbide; Switches; Testing; Voltage; PCSS; Photoconductive switching; SiC; Silicon Carbide;
Conference_Titel :
IEEE International Power Modulators and High Voltage Conference, Proceedings of the 2008
Conference_Location :
Las Vegas, NE
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-1534-2
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-1535-9
DOI :
10.1109/IPMC.2008.4743565
