Silicon switch development for optical pulse generation in fusion lasers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

A silicon photoconductive switch for use as a Pockels cell driver in the pulse generation systems of the fusion lasers Nova and Novette was developed. The objective is to make 10 kV switches repeatably and reliable on an operating system. It is found that nonlinear phenomena in nearly intrinsic silicon caused excessive conduction at high voltage resulting in breakdown. Experiments with doped material show that this problem can be eliminated, and result in useful devices.