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Characterization Of Gallium Nitride Photoconductive Semiconductor Switches In The Nonlinear Regime, Joseph D. Teague

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The energy demands of an increasingly electrified world have caused a renewed interest in once dormant fields of research. Photoconductive Semiconductor switches (PCSS) are one of these fields. They theoretically offer high voltage, high current switching in sub cm³ packaging, without the shot to shot variation and bulk of current high-power DC switches such as spark gaps. PCSS are capable of power densities of 10⁹-10¹⁰ W/cm³, with electric fields ranging from 10⁵-10⁶ V/cm and current densities from 10⁴-10⁶ A/cm² [1].

Most PCSS make a trade-off between voltage, …