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Title: Laser-driven semiconductor switch for generating nanosecond pulses from a megawatt gyrotron

Abstract

A laser-driven semiconductor switch (LDSS) employing silicon (Si) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) wafers has been used to produce nanosecond-scale pulses from a 3 μs, 110 GHz gyrotron at the megawatt power level. Photoconductivity was induced in the wafers using a 532nm laser, which produced 6 ns, 230 mJ pulses. Irradiation of a single Si wafer by the laser produced 110 GHz RF pulses with a 9 ns width and >70% reflectance. Under the same conditions, a single GaAs wafer yielded 24 ns 110 GHz RF pulses with >78% reflectance. For both semiconductor materials, a higher value of reflectance was observed with increasing 110 GHz beam intensity. Using two active wafers, pulses of variable length down to 3 ns duration were created. The switch was tested at incident 110 GHz RF power levels up to 600 kW. A 1-D model is presented that agrees well with the experimentally observed temporal pulse shapes obtained with a single Si wafer. The LDSS has many potential uses in high power millimeter-wave research, including testing of high-gradient accelerator structures.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Plasma Science and Fusion Center
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES); National Institutes of Health (NIH)
OSTI Identifier:
1593902
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0015566; FC02-93ER54186; EB004866; EB001965
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Applied Physics Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 114; Journal Issue: 16; Journal ID: ISSN 0003-6951
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS; 70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; semiconductor switch; gyrotron

Citation Formats

Picard, Julian F., Schaub, Samuel C., Rosenzweig, Guy, Stephens, Jacob C., Shapiro, Michael A., and Temkin, Richard J. Laser-driven semiconductor switch for generating nanosecond pulses from a megawatt gyrotron. United States: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1063/1.5093639.
Picard, Julian F., Schaub, Samuel C., Rosenzweig, Guy, Stephens, Jacob C., Shapiro, Michael A., & Temkin, Richard J. Laser-driven semiconductor switch for generating nanosecond pulses from a megawatt gyrotron. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5093639
Picard, Julian F., Schaub, Samuel C., Rosenzweig, Guy, Stephens, Jacob C., Shapiro, Michael A., and Temkin, Richard J. 2019. "Laser-driven semiconductor switch for generating nanosecond pulses from a megawatt gyrotron". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5093639. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1593902.
@article{osti_1593902,
title = {Laser-driven semiconductor switch for generating nanosecond pulses from a megawatt gyrotron},
author = {Picard, Julian F. and Schaub, Samuel C. and Rosenzweig, Guy and Stephens, Jacob C. and Shapiro, Michael A. and Temkin, Richard J.},
abstractNote = {A laser-driven semiconductor switch (LDSS) employing silicon (Si) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) wafers has been used to produce nanosecond-scale pulses from a 3 μs, 110 GHz gyrotron at the megawatt power level. Photoconductivity was induced in the wafers using a 532nm laser, which produced 6 ns, 230 mJ pulses. Irradiation of a single Si wafer by the laser produced 110 GHz RF pulses with a 9 ns width and >70% reflectance. Under the same conditions, a single GaAs wafer yielded 24 ns 110 GHz RF pulses with >78% reflectance. For both semiconductor materials, a higher value of reflectance was observed with increasing 110 GHz beam intensity. Using two active wafers, pulses of variable length down to 3 ns duration were created. The switch was tested at incident 110 GHz RF power levels up to 600 kW. A 1-D model is presented that agrees well with the experimentally observed temporal pulse shapes obtained with a single Si wafer. The LDSS has many potential uses in high power millimeter-wave research, including testing of high-gradient accelerator structures.},
doi = {10.1063/1.5093639},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1593902}, journal = {Applied Physics Letters},
issn = {0003-6951},
number = 16,
volume = 114,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Apr 22 00:00:00 EDT 2019},
month = {Mon Apr 22 00:00:00 EDT 2019}
}

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Cited by: 26 works
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Works referenced in this record:

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Works referencing / citing this record:

Fast electron paramagnetic resonance magic angle spinning simulations using analytical powder averaging techniques
journal, September 2019