Improved Current and Jitter Performances of Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch Based on Reduced Graphene Oxide/Metal Electrode

This letter investigated the characteristics of avalanching gallium arsenide (GaAs) photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSSs) based on composite electrode. The composite electrode was constructed by a layer of reticular reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and a multi-layer of metal (Ni/Ge/Au/Ni/Au). The structure promotes heat dissipation and improves contact performance between GaAs and metal. The reduction of conducting current and delay jitter degeneration was investigated experimentally with increased shots, and the results demonstrated improved reliability of the PCSS with a reticular-RGO /metal electrode. The maximum of conducting current reduces from 127 A to 120 A after continuously 5000 shots under 38 kV DC bias, and the delay jitter stabilizes at 0.3 ns. The significant improvement of the PCSS with a reticular-RGO /metal electrode was attributed to reduction of interface damage between the substrate and electrode. The stability of PCSS with a reticular-RGO/metal electrode was improved comparing with the conventional PCSS without RGO layer, and the physical reason was also discussed.