The MOS-gated emitter switched thyristor

A monolithic device structure for obtaining MOS-gate-controlled turn-off of a thyristor is described. The device, called the emitter switched thyristor (EST), is designed so that the thyristor current flows through an enhancement-mode MOSFET, integrated into the base region of the thyristor, during the on state. Although this results in a small (0.25 V) increase in the forward voltage drop, it is demonstrated that excellent turn-off characteristics can be obtained, with typical turn-off of less than 1 mu s.<
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