GTO thyristor of circular construction - has large number of emitter islands to allow switching by relatively small current pulse

摘要

The gate turn-off thyristor has a semiconductor substrate (1) with cathode regions (3), a base electrode with a control conductor (11), i.e. gate and emitter islands (4). The gate terminal (11) is directly connected to a first part (6) of the base electrode and connected via a diode (10) to a second part (7) of the base electrode. The emitter electrode (9) is directly connected electrically to the emitter region (8) and emitter islands (4). Pref. the substrate is round, with a central first part (6) of the base electrode and concentric emitter region (8) and emitter islands (4) occupying the outer two thirds of the area in radial bands. ADVANTAGE - Smaller firing current required for same surface area but without affecting switch-off capability.