Optowares Incorporated SBIR Phase I Award, February 2020

There is a need for a commercially viable method of triggering photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS), particularly for mobile platforms. Laser diodes are an attractive technology which has recently shown the capability of triggering PCSSs, but require novel design strategies to implement them on the desired platforms. Leveraging our extensive experience in simulating device physics and designing optical systems, we will design a laser diode array based optical trigger and drive system for high power PCSSs. The geometry of the laser diode array will be designed to enhance the formation of multifilament current discharge, improving the performance of the PCSS.