Semiconductor Power Devices: Physics, Characteristics, Reliability

Semiconductor power devices are the heart of power electronics. They determine the performance of power converters and allow topologies with high efficiency. Semiconductor properties, pn-junctions and the physical phenomena for understanding power devices are discussed in depth. Working principles of state-of-the-art power diodes, thyristors, MOSFETs and IGBTs are explained in detail, as well as key aspects of semiconductor device production technology. In practice, not only the semiconductor, but also the thermal and mechanical properties of packaging and interconnection technologies are essential to predict device behavior in circuits. Wear and aging mechanisms are identified and reliability analyses principles are developed. Unique information on destructive mechanisms, including typical failure pictures, allows assessment of the ruggedness of power devices. Also parasitic effects, such as device induced electromagnetic interference problems, are addressed. The book concludes with modern power electronic system integration techniques and trends.

Josef Lutz joined Semikron in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1983. First he worked in the development of GTO thyristors, then in the field of fast recovery diodes. He introduced the Controlled Axial Lifetime (CAL) diode, is holder of several patents regarding fast diodes, and has published more than 100 papers and conference contributions. In 1999 he received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the University of Ilmenau, Germany. Since August 2001 he is Professor for Power Electronics and Electromagnetic Compatibility at the Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany. He is member of the board of directors of the ZfM, of the International Steering Committee of the EPE, advisory board of the PCIM, of the program committee of the ISPS and CIPS. In 2005 he was awarded the rank of an honourable professor at the North Caucasus State Technical University in Stavropol. Uwe Scheuermann joined Semikron in Nuremberg, Germany, after completing his Ph.D. in semiconductor physics in 1990. After spending5 years with the development of diode and thyristor chips, he changed his focus to the development of power modules. He has been involved in the development of the advanced power module families without base plates and the implementation of new packaging concepts like spring contacts. He has published more than 30 papers and holds several patents in the field of packaging technology. Today, he is at Semikron responsible for the reliability of components. He is a member of the board of directors of the PCIM Europe and of the program committee of the CIPS. Since 2006 he is engaged as an external lecturer at the Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen. Rik De Doncker received his degree of Doctor in Electrical Engineering from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium in 1986. During 1987 he was appointed Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In 1988, he was employed as a General Electric Company fellow at the microelectronic center IMEC, Leuven, Belgium. In Dec. 1988, he joined the General Electric Company at the Corporate Research and Development Center, Schenectady, NY where he led research on drives and high power soft-switching converters, ranging from 100 kW to 4 MW, for aerospace, industrial and traction applications. In 1994 he joined Silicon Power Corporation (formerly GE-SPCO) as Vice President Technology where he worked on high power converter systems and MTO devices and was responsible for the development and production of world’s first 15 kV medium voltage transfer switch. Since Oct. 1996 he became professor at the RWTH-Aachen, where he leads the Institute für Stromrichtertechnik und Elektrische Antriebe (ISEA). In Oct. 2006 he became director of the E.ON Energy Research Center at RWTH Aachen University. Heinrich Schlangenotto received the Ph.D. degree in theoretical physics at the University of Münster, in 1966 he joined the Research Institute of AEG-Telefunken in Frankfurt. Working on operation principles of semiconductor power devices, he improved the description of forward conduction based on a new insight in the spatial distribution of recombination. Investigating the injection and temperature dependence of radiative recombination, which is used in analyzing device operation, he finds an important influence of exciton formation even near room temperature. A major point of his work was the development of device concepts such as the fast, soft recovery SPEED-diode. He gave the first quantitative description of the dynamical avalanche mechanism limiting fast switching. From 1991 to 2001 he held a lecture on power devices at the Technical University of Darmstadt. His results were published in many papers and conference reports.