Optimization and Comparison of Power Devices

We begin this chapter with a discussion of avalanche breakdown and blocking voltage in power devices, which leads naturally into a survey of edge termination techniques. We then discuss the optimum design of unipolar drift regions in devices such as Schottky diodes, JFETs (junction field-effect transistors), and MOSFETs (metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors), with a brief discussion of lateral RESURF (reduced-surface-field) devices. Finally, we present a consistent methodology for optimizing and comparing unipolar and bipolar devices for a particular set of specifications (i.e., blocking voltage and switching frequency).