High Current Operation of a Semi-Insulating Gallium Arsenide Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch Triggered by the Light Produced by a Spark Gap

In this article, spark-discharge radiation light is used to trigger a gallium/arsenide (GaAs) photoconductive semiconductor switch (PCSS). In contrast to traditional triggers using optical sources, the Dspark gap has the advantages of low cost and easy miniaturization. The time-domain waveform, energy, and spectral distributions of spark discharge radiation were studied. The results have shown that it is possible to trigger GaAs PCSS with a spark discharge radiation. A spark gap, as a trigger source, successfully triggered the 3-mm-gap GaAs PCSS in both linear and nonlinear modes. This quenching mode was achieved when the capacitance was 10 nF, the rising edge of output electric pulse of the switch was 7 ns, and the width was about 37 ns. In addition, when the 3-mm-gap GaAs PCSS was triggered using a spark discharge, the GaAs PCSS delivered a current of 3.0 kA for a bias voltage of 2 kV.