Estimation of power MOSFET junction temperature during avalanche mode: Experimental tests and modelling

Abstract In this paper, an experimental and numerical procedure has been developed to estimate the junction temperature of a power MOSFET when operating in avalanche mode of short duration. At first, a simplified electrothermal model proposed in literature has been recalled then we describe the experimental procedure that we have developed to extract the parameters necessary for its exploitation. The comparison between measurements and numerical simulation results of temperature and drain–source voltage shows that the proposed methodology leads to a quite accurate prediction of the MOSFET heating and drain–source voltage waveforms during avalanche mode.