RoHS regulations (i.e. prohibition of Mercury) have created a need for suitable replacements of legacy tube-based high power discharge switches like Spark Gaps and Ignitrons. Silicon Power now introduces solid state discharge solutions with: favorable performance to legacy products, longer usable lifetime and the ability to comply with RoHS.
Silicon Power’s underlying technology, Solidtron,...
The well-known effect of delayed impact-ionization breakdown manifests itself in 100-ps avalanche switching of Si or GaAs diode p+-n-n+ structure that is triggered by a steep voltage ramp [1-3]. Here we report first experimental observations of delayed impact ionization breakdown in Si and ZnSe semiconductor structures that do not contain any p-n junctions.
Si n+-n-n+ structures with the...
Recent advances in silicon carbide (SiC) device process, fabrication, design, and packaging have made possible the development of single die, high voltage Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) and Junction Barrier Schottky (JBS) diodes with avalanche breakdown voltages up to 27 kV and 15 kV, respectively [1-2]. SiC power semiconductor devices fabricated on wide epitaxial drift regions...
A high-power semi-insulating GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch (PCSS) with quantum well structure was fabricated. The AlGaAs layer was deposited on the surface of the GaAs material, and the reflecting film and the antireflection film have been made on the surface of the GaAs and AlGaAs, respectively. When the prepared PCSS worked at a bias voltage of 9.8 kV and triggered by a laser...
With the progression of silicon carbide (SiC) technologies, single semiconductor switches with higher voltage and current capabilities are emerging. Evaluating the pulsed current capability of SiC semiconductor devices for pulsed power and power electronics applications is required to understand their performance and reliability. This paper presents the narrow pulse evaluation of 15 kV SiC...
We report on the development of fast high-voltage kilo-ampere thyristor-based switching modules, which can be easily scaled by means of series connection of the thyristors. The thyristors are in each case getting triggered by the overhead ignition of breakover diodes, with the anode of the breakover diode being connected to the anode of the thyristor and the cathode of the breakover diode...
Key requirements for a solid state switch in a fast switching pulsed power circuit include high blocking voltage, high current conduction and fast switching. The wide bandgap properties of silicon carbide has enabled the development and commercialization of high voltage MOSFET whose steady state and transient characteristics meet the requirements for narrow pulse width applications. Even...
