3D electro-thermal simulations of wide area power devices operating in avalanche condition

Abstract

In this paper a novel 3Delectro-thermal simulator for high power devices operating in avalanche condition has been presented. The proposed solution is based on two coupled systems: a 3D-FEM thermal simulator and a 2D electrical solver. It is capable of simulating a large number of macro-cells composing a wide-area power devices operating in avalanche condition. In order to prove the effectiveness of the simulator, we will present electro-thermalsimulations in Unclamped Inductive Switching (UIS) conditions for a high power Trench-IGBT