Experimental Study of Quasi-Optical 170 GHz Pulse Compressor with Laser-Driven GaAs Switch

A quasi-optical three-mirror pulse compressor with laser-driven GaAs switch was developed and experimentally tested. GaAs switch was activated by 532 nm laser with a pulse duration of about 100 ps and a pulse energy of about 50 mJ. Power gain of about 25 was obtained when compressing the output radiation of 170 GHz backward wave oscillator operating in a continuous wave mode, with an output power of about 10 mW.