Analysis of carrier dynamics and thermal effect of the GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch in lock-on mode

Abstract The lock-on effect of the gallium arsenide photoconductive semiconductor switch (GaAs PCSS) at repetition rate aggravates the current crowding and electric field distortion, which significantly increases the risk of switch damage or even failure. Therefore, it is of great significance to investigate the carrier transport and the heat generation mechanism for improving the performance and longevity of GaAs PCSS in lock-on mode. The internal physical process of an opposed-electrode GaAs PCSS at low optical energy and strong electric field is analyzed and discussed by experiment and simulation. A device-circuit hybrid simulation is employed to investigate the transient electric field, carrier concentration, and lattice temperature distribution within the GaAs PCSS in lock-on mode. The device temperature exhibits a positive correlation with the applied bias electric field, resulting in a peak temperature of 1037.25 K at an electric field of 38 kV cm −1 . The temperature distribution within the GaAs PCSS indicates a greater possibility for thermal breakdown and damage near the electrodes.