ISSN:
1089-7550
Source:
AIP Digital Archive
Topics:
Physics
Notes:
The silicon photoconductive power switch has the potential to replace gaseous discharge switches like thyratrons, krytrons, ignitrons, and spark gaps, that are commonly found in high-voltage and high-current pulse circuits. This offers the possibility of developing advanced laser and radar drive circuits that are all-solid state, and which enjoy the advantages of improved efficiency, compactness, and life expectancy. Silicon operating at liquid-nitrogen temperature is especially attractive as a power switch because at 77 K it displays an extremely low coefficient of thermal expansion, a large optical absorption depth for 1.06-μm light, and a large thermal conductivity. These factors allow low-temperature silicon to switch power levels an order of magnitude greater than at 300 K, and an experimental cryogenic silicon photoconductive power switch (PCPS) has been made to switch pulses of 15-kV, 1.2-kA, 0.5-μS duration at 100-Hz recurrent frequency. Temperature and thermal stress profiles generated in the switch during operation have been calculated and experimentally verified, and the upper power limits for this switch technology are established. It is shown that the silicon switch compares favorably with thyratrons in terms of electrical ratings and energy transfer efficiency, and should be considered in advanced pulser designs.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.340987
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