Thyristor-based device that inhibits undesirable conductive channel formation
US6690039B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 1, 2002 |
| Grant date | Feb 10, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 1, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH10D86/00
Abstract
A semiconductor device is adapted to inhibit the formation of a parasitic MOS-inversion channel between an emitter region and a gated base in a capacitively-coupled thyristor device. According to an example embodiment of the present invention, a thyristor having first and second base regions coupled between emitter regions is gated, via one of the base regions, to a control port. The control port exhibits a workfunction between the control port and the base region that inhibits the formation of a conductive channel between the base region and an adjacent emitter region, such as when the semiconductor device is in a standby and/or a read mode for memory implementations. The workfunction is selected such that the parasitic MOS-inversion channel would turn on is sufficiently high to enable the operation of the device at voltages that are optimized for a particular implementation while remaining below VT. With this approach, the thyristor can be operated without necessarily turning “on” the parasitic MOS-inversion channel.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.