Avalanche Photoconductive Switching

Abstract

This paper describes work being done at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on the avalanche mode of operation of laser triggered photoconductive switches. We have been able to generate pulses with amplitudes of 2 kV - 35 kV and rise times of 300- 500 ps, and with a switching gain (energy of output electrical pulse vs energy of trigger optical pulse) of 1000 to over 100000. Switches with two very different physical configurations and with two different illumination wavelengths (1.06 micrometer, 890 nm) exhibit very similar behavior. The avalanche switching behavior, therefore, appears to be related to the material parameters rather than the optical wavelength or switch geometry. Considerable further work needs to be done to fully characterize and understand this mode of operation.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1989
Accession Number
ADA634885

Entities

People

  • M. D. Pocha
  • M. J. Wilson
  • R. L. Druce
  • W. W. Hofer

Organizations

  • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amplitude
  • Buildings And Structures
  • Circuits
  • Electric Fields
  • Geometry
  • Integrated Circuits
  • Ion Implantation
  • Materials
  • Metals
  • Optical Detectors
  • Power
  • Pulsed Power
  • Semiconductors
  • Switches
  • Switching
  • Transmission Lines
  • Voltage

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy