Numerical analysis of electric field profiles in high-voltage GaAs photoconductive switches and comparison to experiment

Author

Kingsley, Lawrence E. ; Donaldson, William R.

Author_Institution

Pulse Power Center, US Army Res. Lab., Fort Monmouth, NJ, USA

Volume

40

Issue

12

fYear

1993

fDate

12/1/1993 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

2344

Lastpage

2351

Abstract

The electric field in GaAs photoconductive switches has been observed with an ultrafast electro-optic imaging system to develop complex spatial and temporal structure immediately after illumination. High-field domains form at the switch cathode as the photogenerated carriers recombine for bias fields above ~10 kV/cm. At these biases, the switch also remained conductive for a much longer time (~100 ns) than the material recombination time (~1 ns). A model which includes field-dependent mobility was developed to explain this data. Simulation of the electric field profile across the switch indicates that high-field domains which form at the switch cathode are the result of negative differential resistance

Keywords

III-V semiconductors; carrier mobility; electric fields; electron-hole recombination; gallium arsenide; negative resistance; numerical analysis; photoconducting devices; semiconductor device models; semiconductor switches; 100 ns; GaAs; bias fields; electric field profiles; field-dependent mobility; high-field domains; high-voltage GaAs photoconductive switches; material recombination time; model; negative differential resistance; numerical analysis; numerical simulation; photogenerated carrier recombination; spatial structure; switch cathode; temporal structure; ultrafast electro-optic imaging system; Cathodes; Gallium arsenide; Gunn devices; Laboratories; Laser modes; Numerical analysis; Optical pulses; Optical switches; Photoconductivity; Zero voltage switching;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9383

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/16.249485

Filename

249485