dV/dt effect in high-voltage 4H-SiC thyristors.

The switching of high-voltage (1.5 kV) 4H-SiC thyristors by the dV/dt effect has been investigated for the first time in the temperature range from 300 to 504 K. At a rise time of the forward bias V(t) equal to 30 ns, the characteristic bias at which the structure under investigation can be switched on by the dV/dt effect decreases steadily from 289 V at room temperature (dV/dt ~ 9.7 kV µs-1) to 137 V at T = 504 K. The characteristic value of the critical charge per unit area, Qcr, is ~1.9 × 10-7 C cm-2 at room temperature and also decreases steadily as the temperature increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]