Comparison of SiC Thyristors with Differently Etched JTEs

This paper presents results attained with SiC GTO thyristors terminated by a single step and a graded etched JTE. The comparison of both types of devices reveals no significant difference in the on-state and switching characteristics but a higher blocking capability of some thyristors with the latter kind of termination. The best devices showed a forward breakdown voltage of nearly 6 kV, which is a distinct progress as against previous results of thyristors with a graded etched JTE. Furthermore, such GTO thyristors have been characterized dynamically for the first time.