Optical triggering of SiC thyristors using UV LEDs

This reported work describes the demonstration of direct light triggering of 4H-SiC thyristors by UV LEDs. Two different structures with etched and non-etched gate were successfully tested. The current rise time was less than 100 ns and the delay time in the range 2-16 s depending on experimental conditions. The delay time dependency on the LED current is compared with simulation results. This work shows that the UV LED technology is becoming sufficiently mature to switch on SiC thyristors. Thus, an alternative, less expensive and more compact gate light source than the UV laser is now possible. This is of particular interest for very high voltage and pulse power electronic applications.