Streamer in high gain GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switches

The streamer formation and propagation in high gain semi-insulating (SI) GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS) is analyzed in detail. This streamer model on the basis of photo-ionization, growing domain, and the collective impact ionization (CII) mechanism can explain the propagation velocity and the branch and the bend of streamer. This model is characterized by introducing the growing domain between photo-ionization and collective avalanche carrier generation during each stage in which the streamer forms. The calculated results of photo-ionization effects and the propagation velocities of streamer imply that this model is reasonable because the results are consistent with the reported experimental observations.