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Diodes and thyristor — Past, presence and future

Conference Paper · October 2009

Source: IEEE Xplore

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 Diodes and Thyristor - past, presence and future

J. Przybilla1, J. Dorn1, R. Barthelmess1,U. Kellner-Werdehausen1,

H.-J. Schulze2, F.-J. Niedernostheide2
1
Infineon Technologies Bipolar GmbH & Co. KG, Warstein,
Max-Planck-Str. 5, D-59581 Warstein, Germany
2
Infineon AG, Am Campeon 1-12, D-85579 Neubiberg, Germany

E-Mail: Jens.Przybilla@infineon-bip.com
URL: http://www.infineon.com

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Kurt Bauer and Matthias Leifeld for the fruitful discussions during
preparation of this paper.

Keywords
«Power Semiconductors», «Diodes», «Thyristors», «Power efficiency».

Abstract
Diodes and thyristors are an essential component in electronics and especially in power electronics
applications. At the beginning, germanium and silicon were mainly used as semiconducting base
materials. Silicon is nowadays the most frequently used base material for the production of diodes and
thyristors. The first diodes were able to block a few volts and conducted only a few amperes. Today
single wafer diodes are able to block more than 9000V over a wide temperature range; also thyristors
are able to block more than 8000V. Theses devices are able to conduct more than 4000A.

The following major milestones were achieved in the last decades:

1994 Electrically-triggered thyristor for 8000V and 1500A.
1997 First direct light-triggered thyristors for 8000V with integrated protection functions
1999 PowerBLOCK module for 4400V and 1000A
2000 Diode with 9000V and 2600A
2006 New Diode for IGCT Applications
2008 Electrically-triggered thyristors for 8000V and 4000A in 6-inch wafer technology.

An overview of state of the art production technologies of high-power pressure contact

semiconductors is presented in this paper; typical applications with their specific requirements to the
semiconductors are also discussed.

Introduction
Diodes and thyristors are an essential component in electronics and especially in power electronics
applications. During the last 50 years their design has been continuously optimized according to the
requirements of the particular applications. Due to the success of IGBTs in the last years the demand
for power diodes and thyristors has changed also. In the last 2 years there has been a dramatic
increase in the market for high-power diodes and thyristors to fulfill the “new” demand of an “old-
fashioned” product.

Diffusion
Power devices are semiconductor switches that contain mobile charge carriers in the on-state, and
have to present a potential barrier for carriers in the off-state. The thyristor, for example, is a three-
terminal four-layer device, in which current flow starts only if a current is fed into the gate terminal
[1]. This device operates in three modes: the reverse blocking mode, the forward blocking mode, and
the on-state. Furthermore, high power devices require doping profiles that are different compared to
typical doping profiles known from Integrated Circuit (IC) technology. The penetration depth of the p-
n junctions is much higher to guarantee effective junction terminations and reproducible and
homogeneous p-base resistances.
Considerable contamination of silicon wafers can occur during the high-temperature processes
required for the fabrication of such power devices. The temperature necessary for the doping processes
of these devices is much higher (e.g. 1240 °C) and the diffusion time is much longer (e.g. up to 30
hours) than in the case of IC technologies. Contamination with heavy metals can cause an uncontrolled
increase of the recombination and generation rates of free charge carriersleading to increases in both
the leakage current and the on-state voltage. Therefore, high-purity processing in diffusion is
absolutely necessary.
It is important to avoid silicon crystal defects such as D-defects, dislocation lines and stacking faults,
which can be decorated by heavy metals. Decorated silicon defects are very effective generation
centers and can not be completely removed by gettering treatments. Another essential reliability risk
for power devices can be a contamination-induced instability of the electrical characteristics since
heavy metals such as iron diffuse at relatively low temperatures and are able to form complexes with
the p-type dopants.
As a consequence of the low doping level of the starting silicon, power devices are also very sensitive
to contaminating atoms acting as donors. Such undesired donors can result in a reduction of the
blocking voltage due to an increased electrical field strength if the devices are biased with high
voltages..
To achieve high breakdown voltages, power devices require a thick n-type silicon layer with high
resistivity. To provide a blocking voltage of 8 kV, for example, the thickness of the n- base has to
exceed 1.3 mm. With this voltage applied between the cathode and the anode, the resulting extent of
the space charge region is 1.2 mm. Therefore, the density of detrimental defects must be extremely
low in this area.
High-temperature processing
The starting wafers used for our power devices are float zone, n-type wafers that are doped via neutron
transmutation to obtain a homogeneous resistivity distribution in the n- base. For blocking voltages
between 4 and 8 kV, the resistivity ranges from 200 to 500 Ωcm and the wafer thickness from 0.7 to
1.5 mm.
The blocking p-n junctions were created by an Al vacuum pre-deposition [2] with a subsequent drive-
in step. The n+ emitter was produced by a POCl3 diffusion. The silicon wafer is connected to the
molybdenum substrate via a low-temperature joining technique [3], which avoids heavy metal
contamination induced by alloying techniques.
The lateral distribution of the carrier lifetime in the n- base was detected by the ELectrolYtical MetAl
Tracer (ELYMAT), the microwave PhotoConductive Decay (µ-PCD) or the Surface Photo Voltage
(SPV) method. When the samples were analyzed after a doping process, the resulting doping layers
were removed by lapping and etching so that the n- layer remained. Detailed information about these
techniques can be found elsewhere [4].
p-type dopants
Aluminum and gallium play an important role as p-type dopants in high-power devices because of the
high diffusion coefficients and thus low diffusion temperatures or short diffusion times, respectively,
by comparison to boron. Diffusions with a low thermal budget result in relatively low contamination
levels in the silicon wafers.
Since it is difficult to simulate the out-diffusion of aluminum and gallium during the drive-in step, we
have developed a model for a two-stage aluminum diffusion based on experimental findings that show
a good match between measured and calculated doping profiles (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1: Doping profile after a two-step Al diffusion for different values of the pre-deposition time tPD
and fixed pre-deposition temperature TPD, drive-in time tDI, and temperature TDI. The symbols
refer to results from spreading resistance measurements.

The combination of Al vacuum pre-deposition with a subsequent drive-in step yields highly
reproducible and homogeneous doping profiles and sheet resistances. This is because for Al vacuum
pre-deposition, the Al surface concentration attains the solubility limit of Al in silicon, and the profile
formed by the out-diffusion has its maximum within the bulk. The result of the good reproducibility
and the lateral homogeneity, which is typically lower than 1%, is a low deviation of the electrical data.
n-type dopants
It might seem strange that phosphorus, which generates dislocations due to the much larger radius
compared to silicon atoms, is mainly used for the n+-emitter diffusion. The reason behind this is that
the resulting damage to the lattice in the heavily doped n+ region is acceptable since high carrier
lifetimes are not required in this region. In addition, undesired impurities are gettered in phosphorous-
doped regions. In this way, such impurities can be removed from critical regions of the device,
enhancing the carrier lifetime in the fully processed device. A high carrier lifetime in the base region
of power devices is very important to obtain low leakage currents and to enable well-defined control
of the carrier lifetime. It turns out that in the POCl3-diffused areas, the carrier lifetime is significantly
enhanced.
Carrier lifetime control
Consequently, vacancy agglomerates such as D-defects in the starting material have to be avoided.
The influence of the heavy-metal decorated D-defects on the lateral distribution of the carrier lifetime
in power devices is illustrated in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2: Lateral distribution of the charge carrier lifetime of a silicon wafer showing decorated
D-defects in an extended circle-like area of the wafer (central area).
Deep-level defects cause extremely high leakage current densities of about 2 mA/cm2 at room
temperature, when a voltage of 7 kV is applied to the p-n--p structure after the first doping process.
These leakage currents did not change significantly during subsequent high-temperature steps. A
current-voltage characteristic I(V) of an 8-kV thyristor exhibiting this effect is presented in Fig. 3
(curve a). This characteristic had to be determined in a measurement mode with single voltage pulses
because self-heating would destroy the samples if voltage pulses with high repetition rates or DC were
used.

Fig. 3: I(V)-characteristic of an 8-kV thyristor measured at room temperature (curve a) with decorated
D-defects, (curve b) pre-processed to avoid D-defects.

By using an oxidation or POCl3 diffusion, D-defects and, consequently, their decoration by impurities
can be avoided. Power devices which are pre-processed in this way have a high carrier lifetime (Fig.4)
and therefore exhibit low leakage currents. The current-voltage characteristic of such a pre-processed
device in the forward blocking mode is also presented in Fig. 3(curve b). The leakage current is
reduced by approximately three orders of magnitude compared to the device containing D-defects.

Fig. 4: Lateral distribution of the carrier lifetime (ELYMAT measurement) of a pre-processed silicon
wafer.

Passivation Technology
One of the factors limiting the operating temperature is DC-blocking stability, since low leakage
currents at the edge termination are necessary in order to reach the required reliability.
By covering the wafer edge with a layer of semi-insulating amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H),
these requirements can be fulfilled.
For example, in punch-through devices with the conventional positive beveling as junction
termination, extremely high electric-field strengths occur at the point where the n-n+ junction
approaches the surface (Fig. 5). The electrical field strength can be reduced significantly, if the
physical principle of electroactive passivation is utilized. This principle is based on the induction of
mirror charges at the interface of the semi-insulating layer to the reverse biased silicon substrate due to
its high density of states (DOS).
The experimental results show clearly the field-induced formation of charges in the semi-insulating
layer depending on the potential difference of the amorphous crystalline hetero-junction and the DOS-
distribution in the mobility gap of the a-C:H. By implementation of a resistor-diode network in the
Poisson solver “BREAKDOWN” [5] we have been able to simulate the combination of different edge
contours and a-C:H layers described by the experimental data set.
Due to strong punch through at the n-n+-junction, the breakdown voltage of the structure with positive
beveled edge is limited by surface-breakdown to 3400 V. Figure 6 shows the electrical field at the
surface of the diode without passivation and with a-C:H. The effect of
anode
900
p-region 300
E max(without a-C:H) = 264 kV/cm

surface electric field [ kV/cm ]

800
700 250
positioin y [ µm ]

600 base 200

500 bufer layer
150
400
E max(with a-C:H) = 82 kV/cm
300 100
cathode

200 point of the maximum

electric field 50
100
0 0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500 6000
position x [ µm ] position at the edge contour [ µm ]

Fig. 5: Reduction of the maximum electric field at the Fig. 6: Potential distribution in a PIN-
n-n+ junction diode with punch-through design

field-induced charges in the passivation layer reduces the maximum electrical field considerably, so
that the breakdown-voltage is increased to the maximum value. The simulated variation of the
resistivity of the n-base also shows an excellent match with experimental data in a not optimized case.

Low-temperature Joining Technology

Using the low-temperature joining technology, the good thermal contact due to a metallurgical
interface can be maintained. In contrast to a dry interface between silicon and molybdenum in a
floating silicon assembly, the thermal resistance of the bonded device is lower. Because of the better
heat dissipation the maximum operating temperature can be raised and the surge-current capability is
increased. In combination with appropriate metallization layers such devices, assembled in a press
pack housing, show an excellent thermal cycling behavior with a stable long-term on-state
characteristic (Fig. 7). The technology is based on the principle of diffusion welding.

Load cycling capability

10.000.000
eupec High Power Dics Devices
Technology
number of cycles

1.000.000 more than

50.000 cycles
with ∆Tvj = 100K
100.000

10.000
other technologies

1.000
20 40 60 80 100 120

∆Tvj [K]

Fig. 7: Load-cycling capability curve

Applications for Diodes and Thyristors
The main applications for diodes and thyristors are rectifiers. Due to the different amount of power
from a few kilowatts up to several gigawatts, the design of the rectifier and also the requirements for
the diodes and thyristors are different. Diodes and thyristors are also used in many other applications
for example, for traction applications in locomotives. Due to their excellent efficiency, very often
“old-fashioned” diodes and thyristors are the best choice to optimize existing and also new fields of
applications.
For medium power applications, very often modules are used. These modules have an isolated
baseplate which is fixed to the heatsink for a single-side cooling. Their easy way of mounting and the
isolated baseplate are features that allow application of these modules in a huge market. A module can
contain one or more diodes and thyristors. For both medium power applications and high power
applications, also disc cells are in use. In these cells, the diodes or thyristors have to be pressed with a
certain pressure from the outside to a heatsink or other conducting metals.
Rectifiers
In rectifiers, diodes or thyristors are used to transform the AC current from the grid to a DC current.
This kind of rectifiers uses normally a 6-pulse or even higher pulsed bridge configuration.
Rectifiers are used to deliver DC current for different technological processes, such as electrolysis. Or
they are used to convert AC in to DC power to build the front end of a converter. The advantages for
using bipolar device are low on-state and switching losses but high overload capabilities. Bipolar
devices are in use in several different applications in a power range from several kW up to several
hundred MW, in HVDC applications also up to several GW.
Softstarters
For starting up motors that are running on one speed only softstarters are used. In this application two
thyristors switched in antiparallel mode are able to control full sine waves. By adjusting the timing of
the trigger pulse the speed of the motor is increased or decreased. In higher power applications the
SCR’s are bypassed by means of a mechanical switch to reduce the losses. Softstarter can also be used
to stop the motors softly.

Fig. 8: Simple schematic of a 3-phase softstarter

For softstarter applications, low losses and high junction temperature capability are essential. In
medium-voltage softstarters also the easy series connection is important. Softstarters are used from
several kW up to a few MW.
MV Voltage Drives
In medium voltages drives, thyristors are used in the rectifier and also in the inverter. Dieser Satz
macht keinen Sinn?Therefore, this kind of inverter is called “Load Commutating Inverter” (LCI).
These converters are used for high-power motors such as marine drives, rolling mills, starters for
generators or drives for compressors. The power range is up to 100 MW. The possible output
frequency for these applications is limited by the thyristor and is mostly lower than 150 Hz. The
advantages of using LCI with thyristors are low losses, high power density, high overload capability
and the easy mechanical design.

Fig. 9: Simple schematic of a 6-pulse load commutated inverter (LCI)

High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission and Flexible AC Transmission

Systems (FACTS)
HVDC transmission systems are used for electrical energy transport. In comparison to AC
transmission, the transmission line is based on DC. Therefore, one converter which is based on three-
phase Graetz-bridge acts as a rectifier whereas the other converter acts as an inverter. Main
applications of HVDC are:
• Long-distance transmission due to low transmission losses compared to AC transmission
• Transmission by sea or land cable due to limited cable length with AC transmission
• Back-to-back systems for coupling of asynchronous AC networks

Line commutated converters based on thyristor technology have been the standard for HVDC
applications since the seventies. The progress of thyristors in that application started with 33-mm
silicon diameter and a blocking voltage of 1600 volts [6]. To achieve the required voltage capability of
a so-called thyristor valve, many thyristors are connected in series. Specially designed modular units
as shown in figure 10 include the mechanical and electronic arrangement of the thyristors and
auxiliary components. Depending on the required current capability, thyristors with silicon diameters
of four, five or six inches and blocking voltages around 8 to 9 kV are state of the art. The latest
projects include transmission lines with lengths up to approximately 2000 kilometers, DC voltages of
±800 kV and currents of 4500 A. Transmission power ratings of more than seven gigawatts can be
achieved with such systems.
Both, Light-Triggered Thyristors (LTTs) and electrically-triggered thyristors have demonstrated their
excellent reliability in HVDC applications. LTTs offer a reduced complexity of auxiliary electronics
due to integrated protection functions and their simple way of triggering.
Typical lifetime requirements in HVDC applications are in the range of thirty to forty years. Due to
their excellent overload and surge-current capability, internal and external system faults can be
handled. In recent HVDC systems based on Voltage Sourced Converters (VSC), thyristors are
therefore sometimes used to protect other semiconductor components, such as freewheeling diodes in
case of system faults [7].
Fig. 10: Modular thyristor unit used in HVDC applications

FACTS are systems used to improve power quality and to enhance the power transfer capability in AC
transmission networks. In that context Static VAR Compensators (SVC) based on thyristor technology
are used to provide or absorb reactive power to the network. Thyristors are arranged in anti-parallel
connection to enable a current flow in both directions offering the functionality of a switch. The
number thyristors connected in series depends on the voltage requirements. A typical arrangement of a
modular unit with LTTs for SVC applications is shown in figure 11.

Fig. 11: modular unit used in SVC applications

Pulsed Power Applications

Because of the high di/dt-capability, LTTs can be used in many pulsed power applications. These
applications are for example magnetic forming, crowbars etc. At pulsed power applications the energy
is normally stored in capacitors, which are discharged in one or several pulses with high current and
high current change di/dt.
Magnetic Forming
In magnetic forming applications, normally a capacitor is charged to several kilovolts (Fig. 12). A
laser pulse triggers an LTT. The capacitor is discharged to a special air coil. A crow bar diode protects
the capacitor against negative charging. A special air coil contains the object that is to be formed. The
object can be two pipes for example which are to be fixed together. This kind of magnetic forming
offers many advantages.
Fig. 12: Schematic for magnetic deformation circuit

LTTs are tested in this application with charging voltages up to 5 kV, load di/dt of 5 kA/µs and a
maximum load current of 35 kA.
Crow Bar Applications
In crow bar applications, LTTs are used to protect sensitive and expensive components such as
klystrons or high-power capacitors. The LTTs are switched directly in parallel to the part it is
protecting (Fig. 13). In case of any failure or irregularities, the LTTs are turned on by laser pulse and
the current commutates to the thyristors. In case of excess voltage or high dv/dt in the system, the
internal protection function triggers the LTT and the expensive parts are protected.

Fig. 13: Simplified schematic for a crow bar circuit

LTTs are tested in this application with charging voltage of 65 kV and di/dt of about 5 kA/us.
Replacement of Ignitrons
In several existing applications ignitrons are still in use. These devices will be replaced because of the
pollution that can be caused by mercury. LTTs are a solution for most of these applications. Infineon
delivered stacks for a power transfer system single pulses 80 kA sine half waves 700 µs and crowbar
80 kA, 25 ms rectangular[8].

Conclusion
Because of the need for efficient, reliable and smart solutions diodes and thyristors will also have their
place in the power electronics of the future. The reliability of silicon based power devices has been
proven in applications for over 50 years – lifetimes of more than 30 years have been demonstrated in
many applications.
Due to the relatively high defect density in wide band gap materials , e.g. SiC, large - area devices for
high power application will still be based on silicon technology for the next decade.
Finally it is worth noting, that nowadays highly efficient power devices are required to increase
efficiency and decreasing CO2 emissions at the same time.
 References
[1] Taylor, P.D.: Thyristor Design and Realization. Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 1987.
[2] Schulze, H.-J., Kuhnert, R.: Realization of a High-Voltage Planar Junction Termination for Power Devices.
Solid State Electronics, 32, pp. 175-176, 1987.
[3] Schwarzbauer, H., Kuhnert, R.: Novel Large area joining technique for improved power device performance.
IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, 27, pp. 93-95, 1995.
[4] Schulze, H.-J., Deboy, G.: Optical Characterization of Power Devices. Proc. of the SPIE Conf., Austin, 2638,
pp. 234-245, 1995.
[5] Schulze, H.-J., Lüdge, A., Riemann, H.: High Resolution Measurement of Resistivity Variations in Power
Devices by the Photoscanning Method. J. Electrochem. Soc., 143, pp. 4105-4108, 1996.
[6] H. Huang, M. Uder, R. Barthelmeß, J. Dorn: Application of High Power Thyristors in HVDC and FACTS
Systems; 17th Conference of Electric Power Supply Industry (CEPSI), 2008, Macau
[7] J. Dorn, H. Huang, D. Retzmann: Novel Voltage-Sourced Converters for HVDC and FACTS Applications;
Cigré Conference 2007, Osaka
[8] J. Przybilla, R. Keller, C. Schneider, H.-J. Schulze, F.-J. Niedernostheide: Advantages in Application-Design
by using Direct-Light-Triggered Thyristors, PCIM Conference 2004, Shanghai

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