Title :
Theory of abnormal thyristor forward voltage behavior
Author :
Gerstenmaier, York C. ; Pfirsch, Frank D.
Author_Institution :
Siemens AG Res. Lab., Munich, Germany
Abstract :
The on-state current-voltage characteristic of thyristors is investigated by numerical simulation. For sufficiently high p-base concentration-as already known-an abrupt increase in on-state voltage is observed above a critical current density. Driving the device to higher currents results in a reduction of on-state voltage. Similar results are obtained for thyristor profiles with very shallow emitters. An analytic model that explains the described phenomena from first principles and leads to a simple criterion for current limiting in terms of Gummel numbers and carrier mobilities is presented
Keywords :
semiconductor device models; thyristors; Gummel numbers; carrier mobilities; critical current density; current limiting; forward voltage behavior; numerical simulation; on-state current-voltage characteristic; p-base concentration; thyristors; Charge carrier density; Charge carrier processes; Current-voltage characteristics; Doping; Electron mobility; Impurities; Numerical simulation; Semiconductor process modeling; Thyristors; Voltage;
Journal_Title :
Industry Applications, IEEE Transactions on
