A 4 mm gap semi-insulating （SI） GaAs photoconductive switch （PCSS） was triggered by a pulse laser with a wavelength of 1064 nm and a pulse energy of 0.5 mJ. In the experiment, when the bias field was 4 kV, the switch did not induce self-maintained discharge but worked in nonlinear （lock-on） mode. The phenomenon is analyzed as follows： an exciton effect contributes to photoconduction in the generation and dissociation of ex- citons. Collision ionization, avalanche multiplication and the exciton effect can supply carrier concentration and energy when an outside light source was removed. Under the combined influence of these factors, the S1-GaAs PCSS develops into self-maintained discharge rather than just in the light-controlled prebreakdown status. The characteristics of the filament affect the degree of damage to the switch.
Experiments with the limited space-charge accumulation（LSA） mode of oscillation in a large gap semiinsulating （SI） GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch（PCSS） are discussed.It has been observed that growth and drift of a photo-activated charge domain（PACD） are quenched only when the bias voltage is more than twice the threshold voltage.The original negative resistance characteristics are directly utilized in the LSA mode;during LSA operation the spatial average of the electric field varies over a large portion of the negative differential mobility region of the velocity-electric field characteristic.The work efficiency of an SI GaAs PCSS is remarkably enhanced by electric field excursions into the positive resistance region when the total electric field is only below the threshold part of the time.The LSA mode can only operate in the certain conditions that satisfy the quenching of the accumulation layer and the smaller initial domain voltage.
Photoconductive semiconductor switches （PCSSs） are widely used in high power ultra-wideband source applications and precise synchronization control due to their high power low-jitter high-repetition-frequency. In this letter, a 14-mm gap semi-insulating GaAs PCSS biased under 20 kV is triggered by a 1064-nm laser with a repetition frequency of 30 Hz. Although the trigger condition is greater than the threshold of the lock-on effect, the high gain mode is not observed. The results indicate that the high gain mode of the PCSS is quenched by decreasing the remnant voltage of pulsed energy storage capacitor.
