High Responsivity Lateral GaN Switch

With its wide band gap allowing high voltages, high currents, and high temperatures, compensated gallium nitride (GaN) is a good candidate for constructing optically triggered switches that can operate at high voltage, current, and temperature. To achieve high responsivity GaN-based switches are often triggered with above bandgap photons, which are difficult to obtain at sufficient fluxes and in small packages with current technologies. This proposed work will integrate a compensated In-containing channel layer to the PCSS device in order to slightly shift the bandedge and take advantage of widely available and powerful blue laser diode sources. The devices are targeted to operate at >150 C and will be designed to hold off 1200 – 2000 V, while supplying 10 – 120 A. A responsivity of at least 0.5 A / W at 1200 V is anticipated.