Temperature Dependence of Pulsed Power Performance of Insulated Gate Trigger Thyristor

The temperature dependence of the peak pulse current
${I}_{\text {peak}}$
and the current rising rate
di
/
dt
of the insulated gate trigger thyristors (IGTTs) is studied for the first time in this article. Based on the theoretical analysis of the material properties and device physical parameters including the net injection efficiency
$\gamma $
and pulse damping parameter
${k}$
of IGTTs, the temperature dependence is systematically modeled. The mechanism underlying the effect of injection enhancement on the alleviation of performance deterioration at elevated temperatures is discussed. Experiments of single and repetitive capacitive pulse discharge at
$- 40\,\,^{\circ }\text{C}$
to 125 °C are carried out on IGTTs with enhanced carrier injection (E-IGTTs) and conventional IGTTs (C-IGTTs). Both the measurement and calculation have shown consistent results that the E-IGTTs with higher
$\gamma $
can exhibit higher
${I}_{\text {peak}}$
and
di
/
dt
and lower temperature coefficients at
$- 40\,\,^{\circ }\text{C}$
to 125 °C compared with C-IGTTs. Lower energy loss on E-IGTTs also alleviates the self-heating effect in repetitive pulse discharge operations. Enhancing the injection efficiencies is an effective way to reduce the temperature dependence of pulsed power performance of IGTTs.