Turn-on capability of 22 kV SiC Emitter Turn-off (ETO) Thyristor

The turn-on characteristics for the SiC p-ETO are researched in this paper. By establishing the two-dimensional numerical model of the SiC p-ETO, the influence of the device parameters and external circuit conditions on the turn-on speed is discussed. The experiments agree with the simulated results well. The npn turn-on mode of ETO is captured in a high di/dt experiment, which proves the existence of the FBSOA for this time hence the possibility of its application in converters without di/dt snubber. According to the intrinsic temperature limitation of the SiC material, the simulation shows that the peak power density of the SiC p-ETO during turn-on could reach several tens of MW/cm2.