High current density 800-V 4H-SiC gate turn-off thyristors

4H-SiC gate turn-off thyristors (GTO's) were fabricated using the recently developed inductively coupled plasma (ICP) dry etching technique, DC and ac characterization have been done to evaluate forward blocking voltage, leakage current, on-state voltage drop and switching performance. GTO's over 800 V de blocking capability has been demonstrated with a blocking layer thickness of 7 mu m The de on-state voltage drops of a typical device at 25 and 300 degrees C were 4.5 and 3.6 V, respectively, for a current density of 1000 A/cm(2). The devices can be reliably turned on and turned off under an anode current density of 5000 A/cm(2) without observable degradation.