600 V / 5 A FET-triggered lateral opto-triac

Besides being used in the production of MOS transistors, the SIPMOS® (short for Siemens Power MOS) technology permits the manufacture of components in which bipolar and MOS structures are functionally integrated, e.g. an FET-controlled optotriac. This component consists of two inverse-parallel connected lateral thyristors which are driven with the aid of vertical MOS transistors. A highly sensitive phototransistor supplies the gate voltage of the vertical MOS transistors. The lateral thyristors are implemented by means of interlocking, finger-like structures which enable good chip utilization. The triac features a 4 × 4 mm
²
chip and has a blocking voltage of more than 600 V in both directions. An LED current of 2 mA is sufficient to trigger the component. For a continuous current of 5 A this results in a current-transfer-ratio of 2,500 to 1.