Silicon Thyristors for Ultrahigh Power (GW) Applications

Vobecký, J.; Schulze, Hans‐Joachim; Streit, P.; Niedernostheide, F.‐J.; Botan, V.; Przybilla, J.; Kellner-Werdehausen, U.; Bellini, Marco

doi:10.1109/ted.2016.2638476

Cited by 22 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Conventional electric pulse fracturing equipment employs the gas spark switch [3] as the pulse power switch, and the impreciseness of its reverse recovery time significantly affects the precision of electric pulse output frequency. The thyristor has the highest voltage withstand level and the largest output capacity [4], and if it is employed to substitute the gas spark switch in the pulse power supply, it can not only improve the accuracy of the electric pulse frequency output but also suppress the circuit oscillation [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Failure mechanisms of the thyristor switch in pulsed arc electrohydraulic discharges

Yu,

Kang

2024

Semicond. Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In order to study the failure mechanism of the thyristor switch in the application of electric pulse fracturing, an underwater pulse power discharge experimental platform was built, the impedance characteristics of the plasma channel were analyzed and the circuit equivalence was carried out for each discharge stage. Then, based on the Silvaco simulation software, a theoretical thyristor model was established. By observing the distribution of the internal carriers and current density, the turnon and turn-off processes of the thyristor switch under high voltage were analyzed. The formation factors of peak voltage in the turn-off process were studied, the easy breakdown position was pointed out, and a method to suppress the reverse peak voltage by creating critical damping oscillations in the discharge circuit was proposed. Finally, a pulsed power discharge experiment was carried out to verify the theoretical analysis. The experimental results show that the discharge waveform conforms to the theoretical analysis, and the high voltage breakdown damage of the thyristor is also consistent with the theoretical simulation model. Furthermore, the proposed thyristor protection method can greatly suppress the reverse voltage spike, reduce the peak voltage by 52%, and effectively avoid the damage caused by withstand voltage breakdown in the application of pulse power discharge.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Failure mechanisms of the thyristor switch in pulsed arc electrohydraulic discharges

Yu,

Kang

2024

Semicond. Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, LTTs have been used in laser-triggering circuits for pulsed power systems, optical communication networks, and high-voltage battery management systems. As a key device for power conversion and control, the LTT is required to withstand a high critical rate of rise of off-state voltage (dv/dt capability) to cope with emergencies such as surge voltage in the circuit [1,2]. The conventional solution is to employ a cathode short structure in the N + cathode so that part of the P base region is directly connected to the cathode metal, thereby the surge current can be quickly released to prevent the device from false triggering of inappropriate dv/dt behavior [3][4][5][6][7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cathode shorts design and its effects on the device characteristics of small-size light-triggered thyristors

Yin

Bai

Liu

et al. 2023

Semicond. Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cathode shorts are an essential part in light-triggered thyristors (LTTs) that are utilized to achieve adequate dv/dt capability and switching characteristics. In this paper, we designed cathode shorts structures specifically for small-size LTTs; the patterns and structural parameters were shown. Devices were fabricated and measured, and the influences of the cathode shorts on device performance were examined. The results showed that, based on the optimized design, the cathode shorts allowed excellent dv/dt capability and switching performance while achieving good optoelectronic properties.

show abstract

“…The on-state resistance and off-state leakage currents mean that power devices consume electricity as heat and other forms of energy. A thyristor [3] is a power device that passes high currents with a lower on-resistance than metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors, bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), and insulated gate bipolar transistors. Thyristors comprise four PNPN layers and three electrodes, namely the anode, gate, and cathode, where NPN and PNP BJTs are connected.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gate Current and Snapback of 4H-SiC Thyristors on N+ Substrate for Power-Switching Applications

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

High-power switching applications, such as thyristor valves in a high-voltage direct current converter, can use 4H-SiC. The numerical simulation of the 4H-SiC devices requires specialized models and parameters. Here, we present a numerical simulation of the 4H-SiC thyristor on an N+ substrate gate current during the turn-on process. The base-emitter current of the PNP bipolar junction transistor (BJT) flow by adjusting the gate potential. This current eventually activated a regenerative action of the thyristor. The increase of the gate current from P+ anode to N+ gate also decreased the snapback voltage and forward voltage drop (Vf). When the doping concentration of the P-drift region increased, Vf decreased due to the reduced resistance of a low P-drift doping. An increase in the P buffer doping concentration increased Vf owing to enhanced recombination at the base of the NPN BJT. There is a tradeoff between the breakdown voltage and forward characteristics. The breakdown voltage is increased with a decrease in concentration, and an increase in drift layer thickness occurs due to the extended depletion region and reduced peak electric field.

show abstract

Silicon Thyristors for Ultrahigh Power (GW) Applications

Cited by 22 publications

References 16 publications

Failure mechanisms of the thyristor switch in pulsed arc electrohydraulic discharges

Failure mechanisms of the thyristor switch in pulsed arc electrohydraulic discharges

Cathode shorts design and its effects on the device characteristics of small-size light-triggered thyristors

Gate Current and Snapback of 4H-SiC Thyristors on N+ Substrate for Power-Switching Applications

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About