Parametric Analysis of First High-Gain Vertical Fe-doped Ultrafast Ga2O3 Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch

TL;DR

This paper presents a detailed simulation-based parametric analysis of Fe-doped Ga2O3 photoconductive switches, demonstrating potential for high-gain operation with low-cost laser excitation in ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed simulation study of Fe-doped Ga2O3 photoconductive switches under various parameters, highlighting their high-gain potential and performance characteristics.

Findings

High current gain achievable under specific conditions

Quantum efficiency optimized with beam position

Low on-state resistance demonstrated in simulations

Abstract

We investigate, as part of a Lawrence-Livermore-National-Laboratory (LLNL) sponsored-research work initiated in February of 2021, the parametric performance analysis of ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) Fe-doped Ga2O3 photoconductive semiconductor switch (FG-PCSS) with embedded electrode. The detailed SILVACO based simulation of the FG-PCSS uses experimentally obtained lifetime, absorption coefficient, and mobility data. The key analysis results, demonstrated first to the sponsor LLNL in 2022, focus on the performance of the FG-PCSS under relatively high electric field and optical-excitation energy with specific regard to current gain, quantum efficiency, on-state resistance, and impact of beam position. The parametric analysis indicates that a high-gain operation yielding a low-cost laser beam for the FG-PCSS is possible.