An overvoltage, self-protected thyristor with high breakover power endurance

摘要

A high-resistance region was built in between the pilot thyristor and auxiliary thyristor. The built-in resistance had the ability to transfer the breakover power to the resistance region. Power dissipation in the device could be controlled by varying the built-in resistance. Using the built-in resistance, the breakover power endurance of a thyristor with a 5.5-kV breakover voltage could be increased by more than twice that of a device with no built-in resistance. The built-in resistance also functioned as a ballast resistor to make current spreading uniform. The voltage of the resistance region did not change for the two junction temperatures studied, 23 degrees C and 100 degrees C.