N. Kinsey, R. Curry, H. Helava, D. Bryan, R. Druce
{"title":"Design and testing of wide bandgap current limiting devices","authors":"N. Kinsey, R. Curry, H. Helava, D. Bryan, R. Druce","doi":"10.1109/IPMHVC.2012.6518750","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The University of Missouri in collaboration with Helava Systems Inc. have developed a concept and have shown in experiments the feasibility of a solid state switch based on the photoconductive properties of a semiconductor for radar limiters in a linear mode. Three possible device geometries were subsequently designed using CST Microwave Studio€ which would allow for matched microwave off-state transmission but provide substantial limiting of the signal in the on-state (illuminated) condition. Each design was simulated and the results compared allowing for the best possible geometry to be chosen. The chosen design allowed for greater than 99% off-state transmission and an on-state limiting of less than 1% of the incident signal. Initial experimental tests to determine the semiconductor's effectiveness to act as a photoconductive switch were investigated using highly conductive silver paint. These devices were then subjected to testing and the results compared with simulated calculations in CST and MATLAB®. Through these tests, the University of Missouri has demonstrated the ability of aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) to act as a photoconductive switch when illuminated with 355-nm light. Experiments show a greater than two orders of magnitude drop in semiconductor channel resistance upon illumination. While further investigation into the ability of the device to obtain sub-ohm resistance levels is needed, initial tests and calculations confirm the ability of AlGaN materials to act as a current limiting device with the geometry designed by the University of Missouri.","PeriodicalId":228441,"journal":{"name":"2012 IEEE International Power Modulator and High Voltage Conference (IPMHVC)","volume":"11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2012-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"2012 IEEE International Power Modulator and High Voltage Conference (IPMHVC)","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IPMHVC.2012.6518750","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
The University of Missouri in collaboration with Helava Systems Inc. have developed a concept and have shown in experiments the feasibility of a solid state switch based on the photoconductive properties of a semiconductor for radar limiters in a linear mode. Three possible device geometries were subsequently designed using CST Microwave Studio€ which would allow for matched microwave off-state transmission but provide substantial limiting of the signal in the on-state (illuminated) condition. Each design was simulated and the results compared allowing for the best possible geometry to be chosen. The chosen design allowed for greater than 99% off-state transmission and an on-state limiting of less than 1% of the incident signal. Initial experimental tests to determine the semiconductor's effectiveness to act as a photoconductive switch were investigated using highly conductive silver paint. These devices were then subjected to testing and the results compared with simulated calculations in CST and MATLAB®. Through these tests, the University of Missouri has demonstrated the ability of aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) to act as a photoconductive switch when illuminated with 355-nm light. Experiments show a greater than two orders of magnitude drop in semiconductor channel resistance upon illumination. While further investigation into the ability of the device to obtain sub-ohm resistance levels is needed, initial tests and calculations confirm the ability of AlGaN materials to act as a current limiting device with the geometry designed by the University of Missouri.