Abstract:
Background With the increasing demand for solid-state, modular, and miniaturized pulsed power systems, wide-band-gap photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSSs) have attracted significant attention due to their high-power capacity and fast response characteristics.
Purpose This study aims to develop a vertical PCSS on high-purity semi-insulating (HPSI) 4H-SiC substrate with an improved package structure to enhance laser energy utilization, while optimizing the pulse-forming circuit to minimize parasitic effects.
Methods We fabricated vertical PCSSs on HPSI 4H-SiC substrates and proposed a novel package structure with a high reflector based on MgF2/TiO2 to improve laser energy utilization. And a slotted pulse-forming line structure is introduced to reduce parasitic inductance.
Results Under 10 kV bias voltage with 532 nm laser excitation (500 ps pulse width, 90 μJ energy), the system generated 7.6 kV pulses across 50 Ω load with 620 ps rise time and 2.2 ns pulse width. The peak output power reached 1.1 MW with 7.7 dB photoelectric power gain.
Conclusions The developed SiC PCSS with high-reflector package demonstrates enhanced laser energy utilization. The slotted pulse-forming line effectively reduces parasitic inductance, enabling high-power, fast-response performance suitable for compact pulsed power systems.