Dissipation in power semiconductor devices-the development of the magic of I1+N.1

Presents the development of Newell´s approach (1976) to analysis of the current capacity of power semiconductor devices. The steady-state average temperature rise for repetitive current waveforms and temperature excursions from a single surge are discussed in detail. New relationships that permit the user to evaluate the current capacity of the devices without knowing the current-voltage characteristics and thermal resistance are derived. For the surge currents the results presented permit the sinusoidal or cosinusoidal pulse to be replaced by an equivalent rectangular one for which all necessary calculations can be easily made. The technique of temperature calculation during device cooling after the current pulse is defined more precisely than in previous publications and real examples are given