Experimental study of GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch with bulk structure

Two kinds of Photoconductive semiconductor switch(PCSSs) with bulk structure are studied experimentally, which are fabricated from semi-insulating GaAs. The first switch has a size of 10 mm×10 mm×0.6 mm, whose electrodes are 6 mm in diameter on the opposite side of the chip. The second one has a size of 15 mm×15 mm×3 mm, whose electrodes are 8 mm in diameter on the opposite side of the chip. The withstand voltage of the first switch is tested under pulse voltages with different full-width-at-half-maximum. A maximum withstand voltage of 7.6 kV is achieved, which means the breakdown electric field is 127 kV/cm. The volt-ampere performance at DC bias voltage and dark condition of the second switch is tested as well as its triggered performance. The maximum current of the switch is more th