Achieving the limits of IATOin TIL GTO thyristors

A rigorous developmental design has been performed with the aim of achieving the limits of the peak interruptable anode current IATOin 4 × 4-mm area T0-220-packed two-interdigitation levels TIL GTO thyristors. The developed design rules with general validity are rooted in the peculiar operation principles of TIL GTO´s and take into consideration the electrothermal failure-safety conditions usually affecting the current-handling capability of GTO´s. The high-voltage TIL GTO´s, fabricated according to the developed guidelines, possess a value of IATO= 65, ..., 70 A under the heaviest possible on-state power dissipation test conditions. This value is the highest ever reported in the open literature for this class of GTO´s (identical device area and case) and is determined primarily by the thermal impedance junction-to-case Zthj-cof T0-220 packages. The broad implications of obtained results are also outlined in this communication.