Method and system for transient voltage suppression devices with active control

A method of forming a transient voltage suppression (TVS) assembly, said method comprising:

• providing a silicon carbide substrate having a first surface and an opposite second surface;
• forming a first silicon carbide semiconductor layer having a conductivity of a first polarity over at least a portion of the first surface;
• forming a second silicon carbide semiconductor layer having a conductivity of a second polarity over at least a portion of the first surface;
• forming a third silicon carbide semiconductor layer having a conductivity of the first polarity over at least a portion of the first surface;
• and
• forming a conductive path from the second silicon carbide semiconductor layer to a connection point to a circuit external to the TVS device,
• wherein the TVS device is configured to receive a control signal applied to the conductive path and to turn on at a voltage lower than a breakdown voltage of the TVS device.

A transient voltage suppression (TVS) assembly for protecting electrical equipment from transient electrical energy configured to divert electrical energy from the electrical equipment, said TVS assembly comprising:

• a plurality of TVS devices coupled together in at least electrical parallel, said plurality of TVS devices each comprising a first layer formed of a wide band gap semiconductor material of a first conductivity type, a second layer formed of the wide band gap semiconductor material of a second conductivity type, and a third layer formed of the wide band gap semiconductor material of the first conductivity type, each of said plurality of TVS devices comprising an anode, a cathode, and a control lead, the control lead extending through the first layer of each TVS device of said plurality of TVS devices to the second layer of each said TVS device;
• and
• a control circuit comprising an output terminal communicatively coupled to at least some of the control leads, said control circuit comprising an input configured to sense a turning on of at least some of said plurality of TVS devices, said control circuit configured to generate a control output signal that varies a turning on threshold of the at least some of said plurality of TVS devices or is indicative of the turning on of the at least some of said plurality of TVS devices, said control circuit configured to apply the control output signal to at least some of the control leads, such that the turning on of the plurality of TVS devices are controlled individually or collectively at less than a breakdown voltage of any of the plurality of TVS devices.