High gain photoconductive semiconductor switch having tailored doping profile zones

Patent · 01 January 2001

OSTI ID:873800

Baca, Albert G ^[1]; Loubriel, Guillermo M ^[1]; Mar, Alan ^[1]; Zutavern, Fred J ^[1]; Hjalmarson, Harold P ^[1]; Allerman, Andrew A ^[1]; Zipperian, Thomas E ^[2]; O'Malley, Martin W ^[2]; Helgeson, Wesley D ^[1]; Denison, Gary J ^[3]; Brown, Darwin J ^[1]; Sullivan, Charles T ^[1]; Hou, Hong Q ^[1]

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1. Albuquerque, NM
2. Edgewood, NM
3. Sandia Park, NM

A photoconductive semiconductor switch with tailored doping profile zones beneath and extending laterally from the electrical contacts to the device. The zones are of sufficient depth and lateral extent to isolate the contacts from damage caused by the high current filaments that are created in the device when it is turned on. The zones may be formed by etching depressions into the substrate, then conducting epitaxial regrowth in the depressions with material of the desired doping profile. They may be formed by surface epitaxy. They may also be formed by deep diffusion processes. The zones act to reduce the energy density at the contacts by suppressing collective impact ionization and formation of filaments near the contact and by reducing current intensity at the contact through enhanced current spreading within the zones.

• Research Organization: SANDIA CORP
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• Assignee: Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM)
• Patent Number(s): US 6248992
• OSTI ID: 873800
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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beneath
caused
collective
conducting
contact
contacts
created
current
damage
damage caused
deep
density
depressions
depth
desired
device
diffusion
diffusion process
doping
doping profile
electrical
electrical contact
electrical contacts
energy
energy density
enhanced
enhanced current
epitaxial
epitaxy
etching
extending
extending laterally
extent
filaments
formation
formed
impact
intensity
ionization
isolate
lateral
lateral extent
laterally
material
near
photoconductive
photoconductive semiconductor
processes
profile
profile zones
reduce
reducing
regrowth
semiconductor
semiconductor switch
spreading
substrate
sufficient
sufficient depth
suppressing
surface
switch
tailored
tailored doping
zones