Electrothermal IGBT short-circuit behavior: Modeling and experimental results

This paper describes the electrothermal IGBT short-circuit behavior. The mo delling of the device has been realized using a physical approach based upo n mobility models and general semiconductor equations. Electrothermal simul ations of the device during the short-circuit phase brought to the fore sev eral types of possible behavior: come back to equilibrium or breakdown (imm ediate or delayed) according to the short-circuit duration. This study show s moreover the influence of the different physical parameters (temperature, mobilities, carrier concentrations, lifetimes) on the device behavior duri ng this phase. Short-circuit experimental study has been made with conditio ns as close as possible to simulation conditions, and eventually until comp onent breakdown. This study allows to determine extreme operating condition s (current, voltage, short-circuit time) and well confirms the simulation r esults.