Measurement and analysis of charge distributions and their decay in fast switching power rectifiers

A study is made on the effect that various lifetime killing techniques have on: a) the steady state charge distributions within power rectifiers, on b) the open circuit decay of these distributions, and on c) the reverse recovery waveforms for these rectifiers. The charge distributions are measured by free-carrier infrared absorptiont and the results are compared to curves obtained by computer solution of the equations governing charge flow within semiconductors.