Luminescence and generation of laser radiation in zinc selenide and cadmium sulfide single crystals exposed to high-voltage subnanosecond pulses

Abstract

The action of high-voltage subnanosecond pulses on AIIBVI semiconductor compounds is studied. A negative pulse with a duration of up to 500 ps is applied to electrodes of a special shape. The pulse amplitude can be varied from 20 to 250 kV. Plane-parallel plates with a thickness of 1–2 mm made of bulk zinc selenide or cadmium sulfide single crystals are placed between the electrodes. Experiments are carried out in air without submerging single crystal plates in a liquid dielectric medium. As soon as a voltage pulse is applied, diverging discharges propagate from sharp edges of the negative electrode along electric field lines. With increasing voltage, generation of laser radiation is observed in the bulk of the semiconductor, displaying all its characteristic features, such as a sharp increase in the radiation power, narrowing the spectrum, and the radiation directionality. For zinc selenide at room temperature, the radiation characteristics are as follows: the wavelength is 480 nm, the radiation divergence is about 3°, and the peak pulse power is 600 W.