Transient electrothermal simulation of power semiconductor devices

In this paper, a new thermal model based on the Fourier series solution of heat conduction equation has been introduced in detail. 1-D and 2-D Fourier series thermal models have been programmed in MATLAB/Simulink. Compared with the traditional finite-difference thermal model and equivalent RC thermal network, the new thermal model can provide high simulation speed with high accuracy, which has been proved to be more favorable in dynamic thermal characterization on power semiconductor switches. The complete electrothermal simulation models of insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and power diodes under inductive load switching condition have been successfully implemented in MATLAB/Simulink. The experimental results on IGBT and power diodes with clamped inductive load switching tests have verified the new electrothermal simulation model. The advantage of Fourier series thermal model over widely used equivalent RC thermal network in dynamic thermal characterization has also been validated by the measured junction temperature

Wide Band Gap Devices and Their Application in Power Electronics

Power electronic systems have a great impact on modern society. Their applications target a more sustainable future by minimizing the negative impacts of industrialization on the environment, such as global warming effects and greenhouse gas emission. Power devices based on wide band gap (WBG) material have the potential to deliver a paradigm shift in regard to energy efficiency and working with respect to the devices based on mature silicon (Si). Gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) have been treated as one of the most promising WBG materials that allow the performance limits of matured Si switching devices to be significantly exceeded. WBG-based power devices enable fast switching with lower power losses at higher switching frequency and hence, allow the development of high power density and high efficiency power converters. This paper reviews popular SiC and GaN power devices, discusses the associated merits and challenges, and finally their applications in power electronics

Physics-based Compact Model of Integrated Gate-Commutated Thyristor with Multiple Effects for High Power Application

This paper presents a physics-based compact model of integrated gate-commutated thyristor (IGCT) with multiple effects for high power application. The proposed model has both acceptable accuracy and computation time requirement, which is suitable for system level circuit simulation and IGCT’s whole wafer modelling work. First, the development of IGCT model is discussed and the one-dimension phenomenon of IGCT is analyzed in the paper. Second, a physics-based compact model of IGCT is proposed. The proposed model of IGCT includes multiple physical effects that are crucial to IGCTs working in high power applications. These physical effects include the impact ionization effect, moving boundary of depletion region during punch-thourgh (PT) and the local lifetime region. The Fourier series solution is applied for the ambipolar diffusion equation in the base region. Third, the proposed model is implemented in Simulink and compared with the model in Silvaco Atlas, a finite-element (FEM) tool. Finally, the proposed compact model of IGCT is validated by experiments