Thyristor having at least four zones of opposite conduction type

摘要

Such semiconductor devices are provided on the cathode side or anode side with emitter short circuits which are able to increase, inter alia, the dv-dt load carrying capacity and reduce the critical hold-off interval. Among the disadvantages of emitter short circuits are a delaying and possible impedance of the propagation of triggering when the thyristor is turned on, an increase in the latch-up current and possibly an undesirably high holding current, and, in the case of GTO thyristors, only a low resistance to excessive currents. The invention provides an emitter-base structure in which the disadvantages of shorting are avoided or reduced and the dynamic properties are improved further. This is achieved if an emitter-base junction is so highly doped at a multiplicity of points on both sides distributed over the area and has such a high doping gradient at the junction that the characteristic of the p-n junction is determined at those points by the tunnel mechanism.