University of Illinois

Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC

Shaloo Rakheja

Lars F Voss

Adam M Conway

David Lawrence Hall

Kexin Li

Karen Marie Dowling

A photoconductive switch that uses materials that support negative differential mobility, whose operation leverages the pulse compression of a charge could to generate the 'on' time of the pulse in combination with the speed of light to generate the 'off' time of the pulse, is described. In one example, a method of operating a photoconductive switch, which includes two electrodes and a light absorbing material positioned therebetween, includes selecting a value for one or more parameters comprising a voltage for generation of an electric field, a spot size of a laser pulse, a temporal pulse width of the laser pulse, or an intensity of the laser pulse, wherein the selected value(s) for the one or more parameters enable the switch to operate in a region where the light absorbing material exhibits negative differential mobility, and illuminating the light absorbing material with the laser pulse to generate a charge cloud within the light absorbing material.

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Urbana Champaign, IL, United States of America

Shaloo Rakheja