Investigation of high temperature operation of the emitter turn-off thyristor

This paper investigates the emitter turn-off thyristor´s (ETO´s) high temperature operation from thermal stability point of view. The objective is to identify the electrical and thermal limitations to the high temperature application of the ETO. The loss characteristics of the ETO, including switching loss, conduction loss, and leakage loss are studied experimentally and analytically, at high junction temperature. A closed loop thermal system and stability criterion is developed and analyzed. At low junction temperature, the switching loss determines the thermal stability. At high junction temperature, the high leakage loss leads to thermal instability. From the developed thermal system, the maximum operating junction temperature for the ETO has been derived, under certain operating conditions. Steady state operating junction temperature of 160 Degrees Celsius is obtained for the ETO