Analysis of the snubberless operation of the emitter turn-off thyristor (ETO)

The emitter turn-off thyristor (ETO) is a hybrid power semiconductor device that turns off the GTO under the unity turn-off gain condition. This paper analyzes the failure mechanism in the snubberless turn-off of the ETO and proposes solutions that extend the snubberless switching capability of the ETO to the theoretical limitation of the device. Theoretical analysis and experimental results are presented.