Title :
Simulation of Current Filaments in Photoconductive Semiconductor Switches
Author :
Kambour, K. ; Hjalmarson, H.P. ; Zutavern, F.J. ; Mar, A. ; Myles, Charles W. ; Joshi, R.P.
Author_Institution :
Sandia Nat. Labs., Albuquerque, NM
Abstract :
Photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS´s), such as optically-triggered GaAs switches, have been developed for a variety of applications. Such switches exhibit unique properties as a consequence of lock-on, a phenomenon associated with the bistable switching of these devices. In this paper, lock-on is explained in terms of collective impact ionization. Furthermore, the effect of defects on the performance of these devices is investigated.
Keywords :
photoconducting switches; semiconductor switches; GaAs; bistable switching; collective impact ionization; current filaments; photoconductive semiconductor switches; Charge carrier density; Distribution functions; Electrodes; Electrons; Impact ionization; Optical bistability; Optical switches; Photoconducting devices; Power semiconductor switches; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
Pulsed Power Conference, 2005 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Monterey, CA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-9189-6
Electronic_ISBN :
0-7803-9190-x
DOI :
10.1109/PPC.2005.300786
