Optically Triggered Power Transistor for Photonic Electrical Power Systems

Under this program Vega Wave Systems, Inc. will design, fabricate and characterize a gallium- arsenide-based optically-triggered power transistor, which has high potential of achieving high-frequency switching capability, without sacrificing switching efficiency or other critical parameters like on-resistance and breakdown voltage. Power-electronic systems comprising optically-triggered devices have the potential for significantly higher switching frequencies and power densities. The proposed device is switched through the photogeneration-recombination of carriers, without requiring any gate-oxide structure like conventional metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor. The optically-triggered power transistor provides several key advantages including increased reliability due to isolation of the switch control signals from the power devices, reduced vulnerability of the resulting power system to electromagnetic interference, higher switching speed at high power, enhanced power-added efficiency, and increased breakdown voltage. In Phase II of the program, a second-generation device will be designed to improve device performance with regard to higher switching speed, optical gain and breakdown voltage. In addition, the device will be packaged with an optical window or fiber-coupled package for testing in Air Force fly-by-light systems.