Short-circuit semiconductor component and method for operating it

US11664445B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Infineon Technologies Bipolar GmbH & Co. KG · DE

Inventors

• Mario Schenk · Bad Gams, AT
• Reiner Barthelmess · Soest, DE
• Peter Weidner · Soest, DE
• Dirk Pikorz · Warstein, DE
• Markus Droldner · Ahlen, DE
• Michael Stelte · Schloss Hamborn, DE
• Harald Nübel · Warstein, DE
• Uwe Kellner-Werdehausen · Pretzfeld, DE
• Christof Drilling · Winterberg, DE
• Jens Przybilla · Warstein, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 25, 2020
• Grant date: May 30, 2023
• Expiry date: Mar 26, 2041

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H10D64/233
• WIPO field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A short-circuit semiconductor component comprises a semiconductor body, in which a rear-side base region of a first conduction type, an inner region of a second complementary conduction type, and a front-side base region of the first conduction type are disposed. The rear-side base region is electrically connected to a rear-side electrode, and the front-side base region is electrically connected to a front-side electrode. A turn-on structure, which is an emitter structure of the second conduction type, is embedded into the front-side base region and/or rear-side base region and is covered by the respective electrode and is electrically contacted with the electrode placed on the base region respectively embedding it. It can be turned on by a trigger structure which can be activated by an electrical turn-on signal. In the activated state, the trigger structure injects an electrical current surge into the semiconductor body, which irreversibly destroys a semiconductor junction.