The optimisation of a 15 kV 4H-silicon carbide integrated gate commutated thyristor

Cao, Qinze; Gammon, Peter Michael; Renz, Arne Benjamin; Zhang, Luyang; Baker, Guy; Antoniou, Marina; Lophitis, Neo

Abstract

A 15kV SiC thyristor is analysed, considering for the first time the design properties that will ensure the safe, stable operation of the device as an integrated gate commutated thyristor (IGCT), while also minimizing its on-state losses. Key to the optimization is ensuring that, during the turn-off phase, minority carrier charge is commutated via the base to the gate, rather than flowing into the cathode, thus reducing large switching losses, and an unstable transition period. This is made possible in the design presented via the introduction of a highly doped base strip (HDBS), which provides a low resistance channel between the centre of the cathode and the gate. This innovation allows the cathode to be extended, such that it makes up 90% of the top surface, thus minimising on-state losses.

Citation

Cao, Q., Gammon, P. M., Renz, A. B., Zhang, L., Baker, G., Antoniou, M., & Lophitis, N. (2022). The optimisation of a 15 kV 4H-silicon carbide integrated gate commutated thyristor. In 2022 IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications in Europe (WiPDA Europe). https://doi.org/10.1109/WiPDAEurope55971.2022.9936508

• Conference Name: 2022 IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications in Europe (WiPDA Europe)
• Conference Location: University of Warwick, UK
• Start Date: Sep 18, 2022
• End Date: Sep 20, 2022
• Acceptance Date: Aug 23, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Nov 8, 2022
• Publication Date: Sep 18, 2022
• Deposit Date: Nov 3, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 3, 2022
• Publisher: IEEE
• Book Title: 2022 IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications in Europe (WiPDA Europe)
• ISBN: 9781665488143
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/WiPDAEurope55971.2022.9936508
• Keywords: Silicon carbide; thyristor; IGCT; optimization; simulation
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/13177238
• Publisher URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9936508
• Related Public URLs: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/eng/wipda2022/
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