Publications

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Prior to this research, we have developed high-gain GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSSs) to trigger 50-300 kV high-voltage switches (HVSs). We have demonstrated that PCSSs can trigger a variety of pulsed-power switches operating at 50300 kV by locating the trigger generator (TG) directly at the HVS. This was demonstrated for two types of dc-charged trigatrons and two types of field distortion midplane switches, including a ±100 kVDC switch produced by the High Current Electronics Institute used in the linear transformer driver. The lowest rms jitter obtained from triggering an HVS with a PCSS was 100 ps from a 300 kV pulse-charged trigatron. PCSSs are the key component in these independently timed fiber-optically controlled low jitter TGs for HVSs. TGs are critical subsystems for reliable and efficient pulsed-power facilities because they control the timing synchronization and amplitude variation of multiple pulse-forming lines that combine to produce the total system output. Future facility-scale pulsed-power systems are even more dependent on triggering, as they are composed of many more triggered HVSs, and they produce shaped pulses by independent timing of the HVSs. As pulsed-power systems become more complex, the complexity of the associated trigger systems also increases. One of the means to reduce this complexity is to allow the trigger system to be charged directly from the voltage appearing across the HVS. However, for slow or dc-charged pulsed-power systems, this can be particularly challenging as the dc hold-off of the PCSS dramatically declines. This paper presents results that are seeking to address HVS performance requirements over large operating ranges by triggering using a pulsed-charged PCSS-based TG. Switch operating conditions that are as low as 45% of the self-break were achieved. A dc-charged PCSS-based TG is also introduced and demonstrated over a 39-61 kV operating range. DC-charged PCSS allows the TG to be directly charged from slow or dc-charged pulsed-power systems. GaAs and neutron-irradiated GaAs (n-GaAs) PCSSs were used to investigate the dc-charged operation. © 2010 IEEE.

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Terahertz radiation from optically-induced plasmas on metal, semiconductor, and dielectric surfaces is compared to electron-hole plasma radiation from GaAs and Ge. Electro-optic sampling and electric-field probes measure radiated field waveforms and distributions to 0.350 THz.

We have studied the feasibility of an innovative device to sample 1ns low-power single current transients with a time resolution better than 10 ps. The new concept explored here is to close photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS) with a Laser for a period of 10 ps. The PCSSs are in a series along a Transmission Line (TL). The transient propagates along the TL allowing one to carry out a spatially resolved sampling of charge at a fixed time instead of the usual timesampling of the current. The fabrication of such a digitizer was proven to be feasible but very difficult.

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Research is presented on infrared (IR) and near infrared (NIR) sensitive sensor technologies for use in a high speed shuttered/intensified digital video camera system for range-gated imaging at ''eye-safe'' wavelengths in the region of 1.5 microns. The study is based upon nonlinear crystals used for second harmonic generation (SHG) in optical parametric oscillators (OPOS) for conversion of NIR and IR laser light to visible range light for detection with generic S-20 photocathodes. The intensifiers are ''stripline'' geometry 18-mm diameter microchannel plate intensifiers (MCPIIS), designed by Los Alamos National Laboratory and manufactured by Philips Photonics. The MCPIIS are designed for fast optical shattering with exposures in the 100-200 ps range, and are coupled to a fast readout CCD camera. Conversion efficiency and resolution for the wavelength conversion process are reported. Experimental set-ups for the wavelength shifting and the optical configurations for producing and transporting laser reflectance images are discussed.

Laboratory experiments utilizing different near-infrared (NIR) sensitive imaging techniques for LADAR range gated imaging at eye-safe wavelengths are presented. An OPO/OPA configuration incorporating a nonlinear crystal for wavelength conversion of 1.56 micron probe or broadcast laser light to 807 nm light by utilizing a second pump laser at 532 nm for gating and gain, was evaluated for sensitivity, resolution, and general image quality. These data are presented with similar test results obtained from an image intensifier based upon a transferred electron (TE) photocathode with high quantum efficiency (QE) in the 1-2 micron range, with a P-20 phosphor output screen. Data presented include range-gated imaging performance in a cloud chamber with varying optical attenuation of laser reflectance images.

The longevity of high-gain GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS) has been extended to over 100 million pulses. This was achieved by improving the ohmic contacts through the incorporation of a doped layer that is very effective in the suppression of filament formation, alleviating current crowding. Damage-free operation is now possible at much higher current levels than before. The inherent damage-free current capacity of the bulk GaAs depends on the thickness of the doped layers and is at least 100 A for a dopant diffusion depth of 4 μm. This current could be increased by employing multiple switches connected in parallel. The contact metal has a different damage mechanism, and the threshold for damage (∼40-80 A) is not further improved beyond a dopant diffusion depth of about 2 μm. In a diffusion-doped contact switch, the switching performance is not degraded at the onset of contact metal erosion, unlike a switch with conventional contacts. For fireset applications operating at 1-kV/l-kA levels and higher, doped contacts have not yet resulted in improved longevity. We employ multifllament operation and InPb solder/Au ribbon wirebonding to demonstrate >100-shot lifetime at 1-kV/l-kA. © 2000 IEEE.

A new class of semiconductor lasers that can potentially produce much more short pulse energy is presented. This new laser is not limited in volume or aspect ratio by the depth of a p-n junction and are created from current filaments in semi-insulating GaAs. A current filament semiconductor lasers (CFSL) that have produced 75 nJ of 890 nm radiation in 1.5 ns were tested. A filaments as long as 3.4 cm and several hundred microns in diameter in high gain GaAs photoconductive switches were observed. Their smallest dimension can be more than 100 times the carrier diffusion length in GaAs. The spectral narrowing, lasing thresholds, beam divergence, temporal narrowing and energies which imply lasing for several configurations of CFSL are reported.

This report provides a summary of the LDRD project titled: An Electromagnetic Imaging System for Environmental Site Reconnaissance. The major initial challenge of this LDRD was to develop a ground penetrating radar (GPR) whose peak and average radiated power surpassed that of any other in existence. Goals were set to use such a system to detect the following: (1) disrupted soil layers where there is potential for buried waste, (2) buried objects such as 55-gallon drums at depths up to 3 m, and (3) detecting contaminated soil. Initial modeling of the problem suggested that for soil conditions similar to Puerto Rican clay loam, moisture content 10 percent (conductivity = 0.01 mhos at 350 MHz), a buried 55-gallon drum could be detected in a straightforward manner by an UWB GPR system at a depth of 3 meters. From the simulations, the highest attenuation ({minus}50 dB) was the result of scattering from a 3-m deep vertically orientated drum. A system loss of {minus}100 dB is a typical limit for all kinds of radar systems (either direct time-domain or swept frequency). The modeling work also determined that the waveshape of the pulse scattered off the buried drum would be relatively insensitive to drum orientation, and thus easier to detect with the GPR system.

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The electrical properties of semi-insulating (SI) Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) have been investigated for some time, particularly for its application as a substrate in microelectronics. Of late this material has found a variety of applications other than as an isolation region between devices, or the substrate of an active device. High resistivity SI GaAs is increasingly being used in charged particle detectors and photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS). PCSS made from these materials operating in both the linear and non-linear modes have applications such as firing sets, as drivers for lasers, and in high impedance, low current Q-switches or Pockels cells. In the non-linear mode, it has also been used in a system to generate Ultra-Wideband (UWB) High Power Microwaves (HPM). The choice of GaAs over silicon offers the advantage that its material properties allow for fast, repetitive switching action. Furthermore photoconductive switches have advantages over conventional switches such as improved jitter, better impedance matching, compact size, and in some cases, lower laser energy requirement for switching action. The rise time of the PCSS is an important parameter that affects the maximum energy transferred to the load and it depends, in addition to other parameters, on the bias or the average field across the switch. High field operation has been an important goal in PCSS research. Due to surface flashover or premature material breakdown at higher voltages, most PCSS, especially those used in high power operation, need to operate well below the inherent breakdown voltage of the material. The lifetime or the total number of switching operations before breakdown, is another important switch parameter that needs to be considered for operation at high bias conditions. A lifetime of {approximately} 10{sup 4} shots has been reported for PCSS's used in UWB-HPM generation [5], while it has exceeded 10{sup 8} shots for electro-optic drivers. Much effort is currently being channeled in the study related to improvements of these two parameters high bias operation and lifetime improvement for switches used in pulsed power applications. The contact material and profiles are another important area of study. Although these problems are being pursued through the incorporation of different contact materials and introducing doping near contacts, it is important that the switch properties and the conduction mechanism in these switches be well understood such that the basic nature of the problems can be properly addressed. In this paper the authors report on these two basic issues related to the device operation, i.e., mechanisms for increasing the hold-off characteristics through neutron irradiation, and the analysis of transport processes at varying field conditions in trap dominated SI GaAs in order to identify the breakdown mechanism during device operation. It is expected that this study would result in a better understanding of photoconductive switches, specifically those used in high power operation.

This paper reports on a recent comparison made between the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) gallium arsenide, optically-triggered switch test configuration and the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) gallium arsenide, optically-triggered switch test configuration. The purpose of these measurements was to compare the temporal switch jitter times. It is found that the optical trigger laser characteristics are dominant in determining the PCSS jitter.

The longevity of high gain GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS) has been extended to over 100 million pulses at 23A, and over 100 pulses at 1kA. This is achieved by improving the ohmic contacts by doping the semi-insulating GaAs underneath the metal, and by achieving a more uniform distribution of contact wear across the entire switch by distributing the trigger light to form multiple filaments. This paper will compare various approaches to doping the contacts, including ion implantation, thermal diffusion, and epitaxial growth. The device characterization also includes examination of the filament behavior using open-shutter, infra-red imaging during high gain switching. These techniques provide information on the filament carrier densities as well as the influence that the different contact structures and trigger light distributions have on the distribution of the current in the devices. This information is guiding the continuing refinement of contact structures and geometries for further improvements in switch longevity.