Thyristor device with improved turn-off characteristics

US5155569A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Mitsubishi Electric Corporation · JP

Inventor

• Tomohide Terashima · Kasai, JP

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 25, 1991
• Grant date: Oct 13, 1992
• Expiry date: Jul 25, 2011

Classification

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

Abstract

A thyristor structure comprises a p.sup.+ -type substrate (21), an n-type base layer (22), a first p-type diffusion region (23) and an n.sup.+ -type diffusion region (25). A MOS structure comprises the base layer (22), first and second p-type diffusion regions (23, 24) and the n.sup.+ -type diffusion region (25). A positive voltage is applied to a gate electrode (27) to form a channel in a portion of the first diffusion region (23) just under the gate electrode (27), so that a cathode electrode (28) supplies carriers to the base layer (22) through the n.sup.+ -type diffusion region (25) and the channel, to turn on the thyristor. A negative voltage is applied to the gate electrode (27) to form a channel in a portion of the base layer (22) just under the gate electrode (27), so that the first p-type diffusion region (23) and the n.sup.+ -type diffusion region (25) are shorted through the channel, the second p-type diffusion region (24) and the cathode electrode (28), to turn off the thyristor.