Photoconductive switching in diamond under high bias field

The limits of high-power, high-repetition-rate operation of photoconductive switches utilizing diamond are explored. To evaluate diamond as a photoconductor for high-power switching applications, the following experiments were performed: (1) measurement of switch resistance as a function of the bias electric field; (2) measurement of switch resistance as a function of laser intensity; (3) measurement of dependence of photoconductive response on the polarity of illuminated contact; and (4) evaluation of high repetition rate switching by using multiple laser pulse excitation.<
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