Housing for high-power semiconductor components with large diameter intermediate contact disks of differing thicknesses

Claim 1

A housing for high-power semiconductor components subject to the formation of an arc, the housing comprising: an insulator forming the lateral boundary of the housing, a thyristor disposed within said housing, at least two circular multi-part contacts provided on respective sides of said thyristor, each multi-part contact consisting of: a copper disc, and an intermediate disc between said copper disc and said thyristor, said intermediate discs being of equal diameter, with the intermediate disc on a cathode side of the thyristor being thicker than on an anode side thereof, and at least one of said intermediate discs being in pressure contact with said thyristor, both intermediate discs formed of tungsten or molybdenum, and a plurality of connecting members which connect said copper discs with said insulator, wherein said intermediate discs which serve to receive the feet of the arcs have a larger diameter than the copper discs adjacent to said intermediate discs, and said intermediate discs are separated from the inner wall of said insulator by narrow gaps, the spacing of which is dimensioned so that no loop formation of the arc is effected into said gaps, and wherein said connecting members are protected by a protective ring comprising a material selected from the group consisting of glass fibers, quartz fibers, silicon fibers, a temperature-resistant plastic material, asbestos and ceramics, and said protective ring is located within said housing, and said inner wall of said insulator is provided with a protective layer of high-temperature material.