Electro-Thermal-Stress analysis of a LDMOS FET Breakdown under High Power Microwave pulses

This paper presents thermal and stress breakdown effects in a LDMOS FET under the impact of High Power Microwave pulses. Experimental investigations of the LDMOS FET-based power amplifier (PA) are performed under HPM pulses. The Electro-Thermal- Stress (E-T-S) breakdown of the device is observed. To characterize temperature and stress distribution of the LDMOS FET, we developed a physical electro-thermal-stress model using time-domain finite-element method. Simulations are performed and compared with measurements. This research can provide useful knowledge for understanding the reliability of RF power devices.