Reverse Blocking IGCT optimized for medium-voltage solid state current breaker by proton irradiation

The high conduction loss and bulky cooling systems are two critical limitations of the solid-state circuit breaker (SSCB), which requires the switches used in the breaker to exhibit a low on-state voltage and a low leakage current. In this study, the reverse blocking integrated gate-commutated thyristor (RB-IGCT) is optimized utilizing proton irradiation to moderate these limitations. First of all, the effects of carrier lifetime on leakage current and on-state voltage are analysed, and the fundamental mechanisms vary with the spatial positions of the irradiation defects. Then, the proton irradiation model is established through pre-experiment and SRIM simulation; the effects of irradiation parameters on the RB-IGCT are studied in detail, including dose, energy, and beam energy spread. Proton irradiation can effectively reduce leakage current at a relatively low dose, while the increase in onstate voltage is much smaller than electron irradiation. The best optimization of leakage current and voltage drop occurs when the irradiation region is located between the forward-biased junction of the transistor and the depletion region under rated voltage.