This book provides a comprehensive overview of the field of power semiconductors, ubiquitous devices that play an ever more important role in technology and in our lives. After a careful introduction to the fundamentals of semiconductor physics and a discussion of the pn-junction, the most commonly used power devices are discussed in detail (the pin-diode, the thyristor, the GTO and GCT, the power MOSFET, and the IGBT). The components are explained both in terms of their detailed behavior under a wide range of operating conditions and their relative strengths and weaknesses in power electronics applications. Selecting a suitable power semiconductor component for a targeted application is often a delicate task. This book provides an objective basis with which such decisions can be made to assure maximum performance, high reliability, and minimum cost. Written by one of the recognized experts in the field, the book includes both the basic foundations to be used in undergraduate and graduate level courses, as well as an insight into power semiconductors that professional electrical engineers will find extremely useful.