Design and development of high power nanosecond rise time EBS pulse amplifiers

This paper describes the design and testing of developmental electron-bombarded semiconductor devices for high-power nanosecond risetime pulse amplification. Pulse amplifiers have been developed utilizing both density modulation and deflection modulation of the electron beam. Density modulation of the beam is achieved with a high-transconductance planar gridded-gun structure. The modulated beam then impinges on a reverse-biased semiconductor target. Deflected beam operation is obtained by passing the beam through a traveling-wave deflection structure suitable for operation over a very broad frequency range. The beam is thus deflected on or off a reverse-biased diode. Both the density modulated and deflection modulated devices have been developed and evaluated to determine their suitability of application. The design approach to each type of device is described with particular emphasis on beam-modulation techniques and the design of radiation-resistant semiconductor targets.