Picosecond microwave pulses generated with a subpicosecond laser-driven semiconductor switch

Abstract

A subpicosecond laser has been used to trigger a GaAs photoconductive switch driving a dipole antenna. The microwave transient produced was measured with a correlation technique to have a FWHM of less than 3 psec. This technique was also used in a contactless measurement of the 250-psec lifetime of a GaAs sample.