Thyristor for low-loss triggering of short impulses with Schottky contact to control gate electrode

A disc-shaped thyristor device comprising:

• a main thyristor formed of four alternating zones of opposite conductivity type including an n.sup.+ -doped cathode emitter, a p-doped cathode base, a n-doped anode base and a p-doped anode, wherein a portion of the cathode base emerges to a cathode-side surface and serves as a gate;
• an integrated auxiliary thyristor provided for improving current rise time upon main thyristor ignition, said auxiliary thyristor comprising an n.sup.+ -doped region and p.sup.+ -doped secondary control region formed between the gate and the cathode emitter of the main thyristor;
• and
• an integrated diode provided for shortening the turn-off time of the main thyristor during turn-off of current conduction therethrough, said integrated diode comprising a Schottky contact formed between the gate and the cathode emitter on said cathode base of said main thyristor, said Schottky contact electrically connected to said gate by means of a metallization.