A 1 kV sub-nanosecond electrical pulse generated by a linear GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch and its characterization

The generation of high-voltage ultrafast electrical pulses has significant potential for application in ultrawideband microwave sources, terahertz technology, and inertial confinement fusion. However, there is still a lack of the generation of high-voltage ultrafast electrical pulses with greater peak amplitudes and faster pulse widths and ultrafast characteristics. In this paper, a linear low-temperature gallium arsenide photoconductive semiconductor switch (LT-GaAs PCSS) is developed using the ps-scale carrier lifetime of low-temperature gallium arsenide (LT-GaAs). The generation of ultrafast electrical pulses with a pulse width of 0.5 ns and a voltage amplitude of 1 kV is achieved by triggering a pulsed laser with a wavelength of 1064 nm, a single pulse energy of 70 μJ, and a pulse width of 30 ps. The impact of parameters, such as bias electric field, laser pulse energy, and transmission line length, on the ultrafast characteristics of the output electric pulse of the LT-GaAs PCSS is investigated through a synthesis of experimental and simulation approaches. The results show that (1) in linear conditions, the output pulse amplitude is mainly determined by the bias voltage and laser pulse energy, and the output pulse amplitude is also affected by conductor and dielectric attenuation in the transmission line; (2) the falling edge is determined by the carrier lifetime. Because of the absorption depth at 1064 nm and the carrier lifetime of semi-insulating gallium arsenide material, the output electrical pulse has a trailing edge; (3) the bias voltage and laser pulse energy can improve voltage transmission efficiency, and the saturation of voltage transmission efficiency is caused by the saturation of photon absorption in LT-GaAs material.