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High Power Microwave (HPM) Waveform-enhancing Sub-nanosecond Semiconductor Pulse Sharpener
Navy SBIR 2020.1 - Topic N201-074 ONR - Ms. Lore-Anne Ponirakis - loreanne.ponirakis@navy.mil Opens: January 14, 2020 - Closes: February 26, 2020 (8:00 PM ET)
TECHNOLOGY
AREA(S): Electronics, Materials/Processes, Weapons ACQUISITION
PROGRAM: ONR Code 352: High Power Microwave (HPM) Basic Research The
technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in
Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and
import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive
technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts
730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use
of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or
work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for
accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 3.5 of the Announcement.
Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be
restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. OBJECTIVE:
Develop an electrically driven, sub-nanosecond, semiconductor pulse sharpener
to improve the performance of high power microwave (HPM) pulse generators by
reducing/sharpening the rise time of a driving pulse, preserving the trailing
edge of the pulse, and increasing the bandwidth of the output. DESCRIPTION:
Wideband (WB) and ultra-wideband (UWB) high power microwave (HPM) source
performance parameters can be described in terms of source power or output
voltage across a load, pulse repetition rate, pulsewidth, and pulse rise time.
When evaluating pulse compression techniques, it is observed that energy
density within an inductor is higher than in a capacitor; consequently, the
pulsed voltage generated during a short duration at a load may be many times
higher than the voltage at which the energy has been stored [Ref 1]. HPM pulse
generating sources utilizing inductive storage and discharge techniques to
generate high voltage (10s to 100s of kV), at short pulsewidths (~
nanoseconds), are limited in their performance owing to the large trailing edge
of the pulse. The performance of HPM pulse generators may be enhanced with the
use of a pulse sharpener, which would serve to reduce, or sharpen, the rise
time of a driving pulse. One such device employed for this purpose is the
silicon avalanche shaper (SAS), which is a fast closing switch capable of
switching high voltage (kV) pulses at sub-nanosecond time scales [Refs 2, 3]. PHASE I:
Develop a concept for a semiconductor pulse sharpener for sub-nanosecond rise
time sharpening of a 3-5 ns driving pulse generated from a HPM inductive
storage type pulsed power source. Ensure that the resulting device meets the
specific electrical and performance characteristics, and is fabricated in a
compact form factor to fit within a constrained operational footprint. Ensure
that the contacts of the device are flat, stackable, and solderable, such that
multiple wafers can be stacked in series, and parallel, and allow for the addition
of heatsinks for thermal management. In addition to electrical and performance
characteristics, the device should be analyzed for its thermal properties.
Prepare a Phase II plan. PHASE II:
Fabricate single wafer and stacked wafer sub-nanosecond semiconductor pulse
sharpeners. Deliver samples to be performance tested. Improvement of key
performance parameters such that a pulse output with the 10-90% rise time of a
3-5 ns and a dV/dt of 10 v/ps to a rise time of less than 100ps and a dV/dt of
greater than 200 V/ps, while maintaining breakdown voltage, peak pulse
amplitude, and compact form factor. Improve device mounts, stacking techniques,
and thermal dissipation. PHASE III
DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Develop manufacturing methods to improve component yield,
production time, operational lifetime, and component cost. REFERENCES: 1. Brylevsky,
V., Efanov, V., Sysyev, A. and Tchashnicov, I. “Power Nanosecond Semiconductor
Opening Plasma Switches.”. Ioffe Physical, IEEE 1996. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/564448 2. Grekhov,
I. and Mesyats, G. “Physical Basis for High-Power Semiconductor Nanosecond
Opening Switches.”,. IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, Vol 28, No. 5,
October 2000. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/901229 3. Focia,
R.J., Schamiloglu, E., Fleddermann, C.B., Agee, F.J. and Gaudet, J. 4. Merensky,
Lev M., Kardo-Sysoev, A.F., Shmilovitz, D. and Kesar, D. “The Driving
Conditions for Obtaining Subnanosecond High-Voltage Pulses from a
Silicon-Avalanche-Shaper Diode.”, IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science Vol 42,
No. 12, December 2014. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6960896 5.
Brylevskiy, V., Smirnova, I., Rozhkov, A., Brunkov, P., Rodin, P. and Grekhov,
I. “High-Voltage Subnanosecond Avalanche Sharpening Diodes: A Comparative Study
of Silicon and Gallium Arsenide Structures.”, IEEE, 978-1-4799-8402-9, 2015. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308804557_High-voltage_subnanosecond_avalanche_sharpening_diodes_A_comparative_study_of_silicon_and_gallium_arsenide_structures 6. Arntz, F.,
Kardo-Sysoev, A. and Krasnykh, A. “SLIM, Short-pulse Technology for High
Gradient Induction Accelerators.” SLAC-PUB-13477, December 2008. https://www.slac.stanford.edu/cgi-wrap/getdoc/slac-pub-13477.pdf KEYWORDS:
Semiconductor Pulse Sharpener; Sub-nanosecond; Semiconductor Avalanche Shaper;
SAS; Silicon Avalanche Shaper; Improved Pulse Rise Time; High Power Radio
Frequency; HPRF; High Power Microwave; HPM; Wideband; Solid-state; Ultra-Wideband;
UWB; Drift Step Recovery Diode; DSRD
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