A modular concept for the circuit simulation of bipolar power semiconductors

Physical network simulation models of bipolar power devices strongly depend on an accurate description of the low-doped drift zone, because the behaviour of the diffusion charge in this region governs the static and dynamic device characteristics. A one-dimensional modeling module for the drift zone is presented, which accounts for all important effects under high injection conditions: non-quasistatic ambipolar diffusion, temperature, and injection level dependent scattering and recombination effects as well as impact ionization. When combined with well known expressions describing the rest of the respective structure, very accurate and CPU-time efficient network models can be implemented, that are suited for all applications including resonant modes (ZVS, ZCS, ZVT). The module is incorporated in a commercially available network simulator and used so far for modeling the IGBT, the high power diode and the GTO