A physics-based model of the power diode and MOS-controlled thyristor using the lumped-charge approach

Accurate modeling of power semiconductor devices (PSDs) is indispensable to meet the need for state-of-the-art power electronic circuit design. Due to more complex structures, larger die size and higher power-handling capability of power versus microelectronic devices, SPICE-based modeling is generally not well suited for PSDs.;The use of the Lumped-Charge modeling technique, however, facilitates the inclusion of internal physical processes and the structural geometry of the device into the model. As a result, this modeling technique provides a more realistic and accurate model than any other presently available. The models are implemented as a "template" using the MAST;This dissertation presents a novel soft-recovery power diode model, termed a "buffered" power diode model, and the MOS-controlled thyristor (MCT) model using the Lumped-Charge modeling approach. The "buffered" power diode model achieves soft recovery due to the inclusion of a more heavily-doped buffer layer in the drift region. The importance of soft recovery lies in achieving a lower reverse voltage and a smaller peak reverse current during the PSD's turn-off transition; this is important for high-power applications. The only MCT model available to date is that using two bipolar transistors--a behavioral subcircuit model. This model works well for static operation, but it has limitations in predicting the dynamic behavior of the device due to the omission of the internal device physics. The developed p- and n-channel MCT models are the "first" physically-based models which can be used by circuit designers to accurately predict the static and dynamic behavior of the device.