A novel, clustered insulated gate bipolar transistor for high power applications

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the performance a new power semiconductor device called the Clustered Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (CIGBT) for high power application. The Clustered IGBT belongs to a new family of MOS controlled power devices with thyristor mode of operation in the on-state and high current saturation characteristics. The excellent saturation characteristics are achieved through a unique 'self-clamping' feature. This feature also enables low loss during switching. The results presented herein focus upon the electrical performance of a 3 kV NPT CIGBT under diode and self-clamped inductive switching, in the first instance. The device is subsequently scaled up to 6.5 kV and 13 kV using a Homogeneous Base (HB) concept. HB concept enables the use of thin silicon layers to achieve superior overall performances. In all cases, the CIGBT is compared to state-of-the-art IGBTs and the significantly superior performance of the CIGBT is clearly demonstrated. Preliminary results of 13 kV presented herein indicate a forward drop of 5.3 V at 100 A/Cm/sup 2/, which is even lower than forward drop of the 6.5 kV IGBTs.