Research on synchronization of 15 parallel high gain photoconductive semiconductor switches triggered by high power pulse laser diodes

The synchronization of 15 parallel high gain gallium arsenide photoconductive semiconductor switches (GaAs PCSS) has been researched aiming to get higher output voltage. Each PCSS is triggered independently by a high power pulse laser diode. The pulse width, energy, peak power, and central wavelength of the laser pulse are approximately 18 ns, 360 mu J, 20 kW, and 905 nm, respectively. In the stacked Blumlein transmission lines structure, the synchronous conduction of 15 parallel GaAs PCSSs has been achieved by offering optimized bias voltage and laser parameters. The method of synchronization calculation is given, and the synchronization of the 15 parallel GaAs PCSSs is measured as 775 ps. Furthermore, influences of the bias voltage, laser parameters on the synchronization are analyzed. In the output terminal, superimposed by the output voltages of 15 Blumlein transmission lines, the total output voltage reaches up to 328 kV, which is the highest output voltage of GaAs PCSSs that has been reported so far. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.