The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 25, 1989
Filed:
Jul. 02, 1987
Kenneth R Whight, Cowfold, GB;
U.S. Philips Corporation, New York, NY (US);
Abstract
A semiconductor diode includes a semiconductor body having a first region (1) of one conductivity type, a second region (2) of the opposite conductivity type meeting only a given surface (4) of the body and surrounded by the first region (1) so as to form with the first region (1) a first pn junction (3) which, when reverse-biassed in operation of the diode by a voltage applied across the diode, gives the diode a blocking characteristic, and a third region (15) of the one conductivity type more highly doped than the first region (1) provided within the first region (1) for triggering conduction of the diode when a predetermined voltage less than that at which the main pn junction (3) would have broken down in the absence of the third region (15) is applied across the diode to reverse bias the first pn junction. The third region (15) meets only the given surface (4) and a passivating layer (9) on the given surface covers the third region (15). The third region (15) is located such that a depletion region extends from the first pn junction to the third region (15) when a voltage less than the predetermined voltage is applied across the diode to reverse-bias the first pn junction, the predetermined voltage being determined by the relative locations of the second region (3) and the third region (15). The third region (15) may form a breakdown ring with a fourth region (16).