Abstract
SiC photoconductive switches combine the advantages of both SiC power electronics for high power and high efficiency at high temperature, and optically controlled devices for fast switching, enhanced reliability, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) immunity. In this work, SiC optically triggered diode (OTD) was designed and fabricated. The diode successfully switched 1000 V when illuminated by a single laser pulse of 337.1 nm wavelength and 1.2 mJ optical energy. A physical device model was validated by test results, from which the on-state resistance and peak photocurrent under different bias voltages and optical energies were calculated, and the potential of these optical diodes was further explored. © 2012 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.