Study On Photoconductive Semiconductor Switches Technology Applying To Generate Terahertz Wave

Photoconductive Semiconductor Switches (PCSS) have a very broad prospect of applications in numerous fields such as the source generating high power ultra-wideband electromagnetic wave, high power microwave oscillator and broad-band communication because of their excellent characteristics. Especially PCSS as antennas generating THz electromagnetic radiation have a broad application value and great significance. So the output characteristics of PCSS have been investigated theoretically and experimentally in this dissertation.Two basic characteristics of work pattern about the photoconductive switches were compared and analyzed in this article. Different wavelengths of light absorption mechanism were analyzed theoretically about PCSS with emphases on the optical absorption of which the photon energy is less than that of GaAs bandgap. Detail experiments were carried out of the linear and nonlinear modes of PCSS. The impacts of the bias voltage and triggering optical pulse energy, triggering numbers of light pulses and triggering light pulse interval on the electrical pulse output were investigated. It has been found the current carrier additive effect in nonlinear mode of the PCSS. The damage mechanism of PCSS in nonlinear mode was also analyzed.