Thyristor having controllable emitter-base shorts

US4760432A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Siemens Aktiengesellschaft · DE

Inventors

• Michael Stoisiek · Ottobrunn, DE
• Horst Schmid · Sontheim, DE
• Helmut Strack · Hersbruck, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 28, 1986
• Grant date: Jul 26, 1988
• Expiry date: Oct 28, 2006

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H10D18/655

Abstract

A thyristor having a pnpn semiconductor body comprising MISFET structures 9 and 12 through 16 which serve as controllable emitter base shorts formed at the edge side relative to one of the emitter layers and each of the structures is composed of a semiconductor region 9 inserted into the emitter layer which is contacted by an electrode 6 for the emitter layer 1 and also includes a subregion 12 of the adjacent base layer 2 and of an intervening channel region 13 which is formed of an edge zone of the emitter layer 1 and is also composed of a gate covering the channel region in an insulated manner. The gate also convers the subregion 12 of the base layer 2 and forms a MIS capacitor C1. A voltage generator 23 drives the gate 15 with a voltage which alternates between first and second values. At the change from the first voltage value which lies below the threshold value of the channel region 13 to the second voltage level which is close to the threshold voltage of the subregion 12 of the base layer, the thyristor ignites due to the shift in current of the MIS capacitor C1 which serves as the ignition current and, thus, when the change from the second to the first voltage occurs, the t…