We report on the development of the first 1 cm x 1 cm SiC Thyristor chip capable of
blocking 5 kV. This demonstrates the present quality of the SiC substrate and epitaxial material. A
forward drop of 4.1 V at 100 A and 25°C has been measured. The turn-on delay is found to be a
strong function of the gate current. At a gate current of 0.5 A, a turn-on delay of 250 ns is observed
for an anode to cathode current of 200 A. The turn-on delay reduces to 72 ns for an IG = 1.5 A. The
turn-on rise time is a strong function of the anode to cathode voltage, VAK. At VAK =230 V, the
turn-on rise-time is 300 ns for IAK =200 A. The rise-time reduces to 26 ns for VAK = 500 V.
Improved turn-on characteristics of fast high current thyristors