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Optically Triggered Power Transistor for Photonic Electrical Power Systems

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Air Force
Contract: FA8650-05-M-2553
Agency Tracking Number: F051-196-0342
Amount: $99,991.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: AF05-196
Solicitation Number: 2005.1
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2005
Award Year: 2005
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2005-03-23
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2006-03-23
Small Business Information
1275 West Roosevelt Road, Suite 112
West Chicago, IL 60185
United States
DUNS: 101351505
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Alan Sugg
 President
 (630) 562-9433
 arsugg@vegawave.com
Business Contact
 Alan Sugg
Title: President
Phone: (630) 562-9433
Email: arsugg@vegawave.com
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

Under this program Vega Wave Systems, Inc. will design, fabricate and characterize a gallium- arsenide-based optically-triggered power transistor, which has high potential of achieving high-frequency switching capability, without sacrificing switching efficiency or other critical parameters like on-resistance and breakdown voltage. Power-electronic systems comprising optically-triggered devices have the potential for significantly higher switching frequencies and power densities. The proposed device is switched through the photogeneration-recombination of carriers, without requiring any gate-oxide structure like conventional metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor. The optically-triggered power transistor provides several key advantages including increased reliability due to isolation of the switch control signals from the power devices, reduced vulnerability of the resulting power system to electromagnetic interference, higher switching speed at high power, enhanced power-added efficiency, and increased breakdown voltage. In Phase II of the program, a second-generation device will be designed to improve device performance with regard to higher switching speed, optical gain and breakdown voltage. In addition, the device will be packaged with an optical window or fiber-coupled package for testing in Air Force fly-by-light systems.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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