Modeling the effect of deep impurity ionization on GaAs photoconductive switches

The ionization coefficient of deep traps in GaAs is determined from a gas breakdown model together with the recent experimental data obtained at LLNL (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) and Boeing. Using this coefficient in our nonlinear device transport code, we have investigated theoretically the nonlinear switching phenomena in GaAs devices. The results obtained from our investigations show that if we take into consideration the effect of the field ionization of the deep traps, we can show how the "Lock-On" phenomena could occur in the device.