Compact Silicon Carbide Switch For High Voltage Operation

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.