Experimental investigation on the short circuit behaviors of robust IGBT devices

Abstract

The paper deals with the short circuit behavior of a new family of robust IGBT devices in several laboratory tests conditions. The transient behaviors in hard switching fault (HSF) and fault under load (FUL) have been determined by means of laboratory tests on inductive load. The IGBTs have been tested in several working conditions aiming to account for the different device characteristics, the differences in both the layout parasitic and the gate driving conditions. Also the temperature variation has been considered in the faulted behavior in order to fully evaluate the switching performances as function of the main involved parameters. Finally the characteristics of a smart IGBT device with increased short circuit ruggedness are discussed.