A MOS-controlled diode (MCD) for power integrated circuits

The performance of the diode is an important factor in achieving good efficiency for a power integrated circuit. In this paper, a MOS-controlled diode (MCD) is proposed on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) for power integrated circuits. The proposed structure utilizes active control to switch the diode between unipolar and bipolar operating modes so that the device can operate at its optimum condition for both static and dynamic performances. The proposed MCD on SOI demonstrated significant advantage over a P-i-N diode or the body diode of an LDMOS. It is found that, with optimum control, it can reduce the diode reverse recovery loss by 10 times and the corresponding switch turn-on loss by a factor of 3, without sacrificing its on-state conduction voltage. The traditional trade-off between on-state voltage and reverse recovery speed can therefore be avoided and significant improvements in overall system efficiency can be achieved. Advantages of an integrated MCD over its discrete version are also discussed.