Investigation of a Laser-Controlled, Copper-Doped GaAs Closing and Opening Switch for Pulsed Power Applications

Abstract

This paper describes the recent power scaling of the Bulk Optically Controlled Semiconductor Switch (BOSS). The processes of persistent photoconductivity followed by photo-quenching have been demonstrated in copper-compensated, silicon-doped, semi-insulating GaAs (GaAs:Cu:Si). These processes allow a switch to be developed which can be closed by the application of one laser pulse and opened by the application of a second laser pulse of longer wavelength. The high-power switching results indicate that the BOSS device will operate at multi-megawatt power levels. The results of our power scaling effort have suggested improvements to the basic BOSS design that will allow us to achieve reliable operation at high power levels.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA633543

Entities

People

  • D. C. Stoudt
  • M. S. Mazzola
  • R. A. Roush
  • S. F. Griffiths

Organizations

  • Naval Surface Warfare Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Conduction Bands
  • Conductivity
  • Electric Fields
  • Electrons
  • Energy Bands
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Free Electrons
  • Geometry
  • Laser Pulses
  • Laser Pumping
  • Materials
  • Measurement
  • Photons
  • Pulsed Power
  • Pumping
  • Semiconductors
  • Yag Lasers

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Microelectronics