Critical switching condition of a non-punch-through IGBT investigated by electrothermal circuit simulation

Due to the dissipated power and the thermal impedance of the package, power devices like the IGBT are subject to significant temperature stress. This paper describes the behaviour of an IGBT within an electrical circuit, at a critical switching condition-the dynamic short. The dissipated electrical power and the resulting temperature rise are analyzed in order to get an insight into the device behaviour close to destruction. Our goal was to evaluate the simulated results in terms of the device temperature to get information about the maximum time the device can survive within this mode of operation.