An InP-based optothyristor for pulsed power-switching applications

A high-power InP-based optothyristor has been fabricated and tested for pulsed power switching. To increase the power handling capability, the device has a 250 mu m-thick Fe-doped semi-insulating (SI) InP sandwiched between two p-n junctions grown by MOCVD. The device turn-on is controlled by optical illumination on the SI-InP, which creates a high concentration of electron and hole pairs. The switched current and the di/dt rating have been studied as a function of the switch blocking voltage. It is shown that the optothyristor is capable of switching a current almost four times the current switched by a bulk SI-InP photoconductive switch under the same voltage bias.<
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