High-Voltage Conductivity-Modulated Silicon Rectifier

The desire for high voltage rectifiers in the electronic industry has pushed the peak inverse voltage of solid state rectifiers to higher and higher values. The purpose of this paper is to present some of the considerations necessary in designing a device with a high inverse voltage and an excellent forward characteristic. In many cases the device characteristics are predictable. Conversely, high voltage diodes are excellent tools for studying many solid state phenomena. It has been shown1 that it is possible by the use of the conductivity modulation principle to separate the design of the forward current-voltage characteristic from the reverse current-voltage characteristic of a silicon p-n junction rectifier. Units have been fabricated by the diffusion of boron and phosphorus into high resistivity material, that have reverse breakdown voltages in the range of 1,000 to 2,000 volts. The reverse currents are of the order of a microampere per square centimeter at room temperature and increase approximately as the square 975