100 kW DC-Biased, All Semiconductor Switch Using Si P-I-N Diodes and AlGaAs 2-D Laser Arrays

Abstract

A 2-D laser array, delivering a peak power of 1 kW with an overall efficiency of 33 percent was used to activate Si p-i-n diodes. A single device, activated by a 1 kW laser, produced a holding voltage of 1000 V and conducted 56 A. When two similar p-i-n diodes were connected in parallel and activated by two 1 kW AlGaAs laser arrays, a holding of 1000 V and conduction of 100 A were obtained. To the best of our knowledge, these are the best results ever achieved in dc-biased switching using all semiconductor devices. © 1989 IEEE