Picosecond optoelectronic switching and gating in silicon

Quasimetallic photoconductivity produced by the absorption of picosecond optical pulses in silicon transmission line structures has been used to devise electronic switches and gates which can be turned on and off in a few picoseconds. Electrical signals as large as 100 V can be switched by a few microjoules of optical energy. The switching speed was measured by correlating the response of two transmission gates in tandem, each having an aperture time of 15 psec.