Compact Laser Drivers for Photoconductive Semiconductor Switches (16-RD-863)

Compact Electromagnetic Pulse Module (EMP) capable of being arranged in series-parallel planar or cylindrical arrays is needed to simulate nuclear weapon effects. High gain optically triggered photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS) based on Gallium arsenide (GaAs) with low timing jitter enables the development of planar or phased arrays of modular EMP or High Power Microwave (HPM) sources. In a prior project, a EMP module based on UESs GaAs PCSS that fit within a 1 meter cube was designed and demonstrated at L3 Applied Technologies (L3AT). In this project, UES, Idaho State University and L3AT teamed up to design compact pulse charging and laser triggering systems adequate to drive an EMP array module. The pulse charging system will be designed for charging a 1 nFd capacitor to 100 kV in <10 S. The laser trigger system will deliver 300 J of 840-880 nm light uniformly to a 1.5 cm by 2 cm switch area with <0.3 ns 1 s timing jitter.