Ultrafast photoconductive self-switching of subpicosecondelectrical pulses |
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Authors: | Holzman JF Vermeulen FE Elezzabi AY |
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Affiliation: | Ultrafast Photonics Lab., Alberta Univ., Edmonton, Alta.; |
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Abstract: | A novel photoconductive switch is proposed. The geometry of this ultrafast switch allows the rising edge of an ultrashort optical pulse to both turn on and turn off a terahertz electrical transient, making the device independent of the substrate material and charge carrier lifetime. A lumped-element model is used to analyze the operation of the switch. The model employed describes the photoexcitation of both a microstrip photoconductive switch layout and a coplanar photoconductive switch layout. It is found that both of the layouts are capable of achieving subpicosecond switching, with the coplanar layout offering greater ease of fabrication and device tunability |
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