The Jitter Time of GaAs Photoconductive Switch Triggered by 532- and 1064-nm Laser Pulse

A jitter time test of GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch (PCSS) with excitation laser wavelength of 1064 and 532 nm is presented. When the laser pulse energy increases from 10.0 to 165.0 μJ with 8-ns laser pulse width, the corresponding jitter time decreases from 96.4 to 86.6 ps at 1064 nm and 71.6 to 63.3 ps at 532 nm, respectively. All measurements are carried out at a constant electrode gap size of 2 mm. The analysis indicates that the jitter time is proportional to the laser absorption depth in GaAs PCSS. These findings are important for decreasing the jitter time in X-ray streak camera and other accurate synchronization systems.