Intrinsic Photoconductive Switches Based on Semi-Insulator 4H-SiC

A high-purity semi-insulator 4H-SiC intrinsic photoconductive switch is presented. The photoconductive semiconductor switch device is fabricated as lateral structures with the electric contact on the same side. The effect of the SiO
₂
passivation layer has been investigated on the breakdown voltage. The minimum ON-state resistance is 16 Ω, and the breakdown voltage is 11 kV. A new phenomenon that two steps exist on the rising edge of the photocurrent is observed, and a model of resistor and capacitor in parallel is built to explain it.