A dynamic electro-thermal model for the IGBT

Abstract

A physics-based dynamic electrothermal model is developed for the insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) by coupling a temperature-dependent IGBT electrical model with dynamic thermal models for the IGBT silicon chip, packages, and heatsinks. The temperature-dependent IGBT electrical model describes the instantaneous electrical behavior in terms of the instantaneous temperature of the IGBT silicon chip surface. The thermal models determine the evolution of the temperature distribution within the thermal network and thus the instantaneous value of the silicon chip surface temperature used by the electrical model. The model is implemented in the Saber circuit simulator. The IGBT dynamic electrothermal model and the thermal network component models are verified for the range of temperature and power dissipation levels (heating rates) that are important for power electronic systems.<>