Design and modeling of the 600 V IGBT with emitter ballast resistor

Summary form only given. Device performance of IGBT's has been improved rapidly in recent years, particularly regarding the trade-off between its on-state voltage and switching loss. Another important performance trade-off is between its on-state voltage and short-circuit withstanding capability. A short-circuit condition occurs when an IGBT is fully turned on and the collector-emitter voltage remains high. Since the IGBT experiences both high current and voltage simultaneously, the power dissipation becomes excessive even during a short time period. The IGBT may be destroyed through a latch-up failure mode or simply due to the excessive heat generated in the device. In this paper, a new IGBT structure with emitter ballast resistor is investigated to improve the trade-off between the on-state voltage and the short circuit withstanding capability. IGBTs with voltage and current ratings of 600 V and 5 A have been designed and fabricated to conduct this study. The IGBTs demonstrate excellent switching speed with a typical turn-off fall time of 150 ns. The 3-dimensional semiconductor device simulator DAVINCI is used to model this new design. Both experimental and simulation results are discussed.