Unified view on energy and electrical failure of the short-circuit operation of IGBTs

Al modification as indicator of current filaments in IGBTs under repetitive SC operation

“…3a and b at two different temperatures 300 and 400 K, respectively. The missing measurement points for both static characteristics are lying within the destructive U-shaped line and can, therefore, not be measured without device destruction In (1), E SC is the energy applied during SC pulse, which is given by the applied voltage (V CE ), SC current (I SC ) and SC time duration (t sc ). C th is the thermal capacitance, c th,si is the lattice or specific heat capacity of silicon, ρ is the density of silicon, d is the thickness and A is the area of the IGBT chip…”

“…Many authors have investigated the SC-SOA for different voltage classes ranging from 1200 to 6500 V [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. A hypothesis was developed for device destruction based on simulation results, explaining the avalanche generation rate exceeding the critical value near n-base/n-field-stop junction [6][7][8].…”

“…The SC ruggedness is defined as the capability of the IGBT to withstand both a high voltage and high current simultaneously for a certain time interval (e.g. 10 µs) [1]. A detailed investigation of the IGBTs is required for a deep understanding of how the current filaments become a physical limit for the device destruction.…”

“…A detailed investigation of the IGBTs is required for a deep understanding of how the current filaments become a physical limit for the device destruction. The destruction due to the current filaments was named as electrical destructions at which the device destroys at much lower energy than the critical energy of the chip [1]. These current destructions occur far beyond the safe operating area (SOA).…”

“…Measured critical current as a function of V CE with two different parasitic inductances at T start = 300 K and R G = 220 Ω SC in I C-V CE phase space diagram for last pass and destructive pulse at V DC = 400 V, V GE = 25 V, R G = 220 Ω and T start = 300 K (a) L par = 45 nH, (b) L par = 380 nHparameter[1]. In…”