4H-SiC photoconductive semiconductor based ultra-wideband microwave generation with MHz tunable repetition rate

Use of the vanadium-compensated semi-insulating (VCSI) 4H-SiC photoconductive semiconductor switch (PCSS) for the generation of an ultra-wideband (UWB) microwave with MHz tunable re-frequency is demonstrated. To evaluate the impact of device architectures on performance, a 4H-SiC-based photoconductive semiconductor switch was manufactured and was evaluated using a laser cluster driver with a configurable optical pulse re-frequency. The 1.5 mm-thick 4H-SiC PCSS was found to operate with an electric field up to 20 kV and a photocurrent of 20.7 A. The fabricated ultra-wideband microwave system could generate ultrahigh repetition frequency pulses from 0.5 to 2.0 MHz. Simulation of the UWB antenna system was carried out to examine the radiation field. The peak radiation electric-field factor (rE) of a single-unit UWB microwave generation system can reach 17 kV.