Low-Voltage Thyristor Heterostructure for High-Current Pulse Generation at High Repetition Rate

The article presents a new design of an AlGaAs/GaAs low-voltage thyristor for efficient high-current pulse generation at high repetition rates. It is demonstrated that optimizing the low-voltage thyristor p-base doping profile by using a thin highly doped layer allows for a significant increase in the operating frequencies. This applies to both a thyristor working without an external load and a vertical stack of a thyristor with a laser diode mini bar (LDMB). It is shown that the use of a 0.1-mu m-thick highly doped layer, formed at the side of the p-base close to the n-emitter, leads to a significant increase of the holding current, which in our case exceeds 70 mA. At the same time, we were still able to obtain a low residual voltage of 1.5 V and a high blocking voltage of 32 V. The developed low-voltage thyristors have demonstrated the possibility of generating current pulses of 30-ns duration at a repetition rate of 10/70 kHz with an amplitude of 125/110 A, as well as the efficient pumping of LDMBs and laser pulses with a peak power of 68/57.5 W, respectively.

Automated summary

By optimizing the doping profile and using a thin highly doped layer, the operating frequency and holding current of the low-voltage thyristor can be significantly increased while maintaining low residual voltage and high blocking voltage. Additionally, the developed low-voltage thyristors have demonstrated the capability of generating high-frequency current pulses and efficiently pumping LDMBs and laser pulses with high peak power.