Switching characteristics of high power buried gate turn-off thyristor

Recently, high power gate turn-off thyristor (GTO) has received much attention as a new device in the power electronics field (1) (2) (3). The self turn-off capability of GTO provides an advantage over the conventional thyristor, because of forced commutation circuit removal upon inverter and chopper application, thus substantially reducing equipment size, weight, noise, and improving efficiency. We have successfuly developed the high power GTO's capable of 800A and 1200A current interruption. By introducing the buried gate structure, this device has a high gate-cathode reverse breakdown voltage. In addition, the amplifying gate is used to supply a large turn-on trigger current. This paper describes the switching characteristics of the buried gate GTO with amplifying gate structure. The requirements for the gate drive and snubber are also discussed.