Title :
Current Filamentation and Thermal Instability in a Power BJT Array Cell
Author :
Axelrad, V. ; Rollins, J.G. ; Motzny, S.J.
Author_Institution :
Technol. Modeling Assoc., Palo Alto, CA, USA
Abstract :
A self-consistent numerical simulation of the thermal runaway and current filamentation effects in a bipolar power device has been demonstrated. Shown algorithms can be applied to a variety of practical devices to study and optimize their thermal/electrical behavior. Transient simulation reveals complex coupling phenomena between distributed electrical and thermal effects. This information can be particularly important for device design as it is difficult to obtain experimentally.
Keywords :
numerical analysis; power bipolar transistors; power semiconductor devices; thermal stability; bipolar power device; current filamentation; distributed electrical effects; power BJT array cell; self-consistent numerical simulation; thermal effects; thermal instability; thermal runaway; thermal/electrical behavior; transient simulation; Bipolar transistors; Cooling; Electric breakdown; Electrothermal effects; Equivalent circuits; Heat sinks; Heating; Semiconductor process modeling; Temperature; Thermal resistance;
Conference_Titel :
Solid State Device Research Conference, 1993. ESSDERC '93. 23rd European
Conference_Location :
Grenoble
