A study on the short circuit destruction of IGBTs

The short-circuit destruction of class n-ch 600-V IGBTs (insulated-gate bipolar transistors) is investigated experimentally and analyzed with the help of device simulation, focusing on three major destruction modes (power constant, energy constant, and turn-off destruction). Measured power dissipation for power constant destruction is 2000 approximately 2400 kW/cm/sup 2/, which coincides with the simulation result. The energy constant destruction and turn-off destruction are found to depend on the thermal effect. The critical temperature for destruction is predicted to be 350 degrees C. >