Thermal transient characterization of semiconductor devices with programmed powering

Thermal transient testing of semiconductor devices typically needs a well defined power level for heating and a proper data acquisition equipment for recording the change of a thermally sensitive device parameter. While the latter is fully solved by up-to-date thermal testers, power level setting is typically limited to defining a current level for two pin devices (diodes). Other proposed methods need trials for setting the power and have poor stability. The paper presents a methodology for applying power on devices with three pins, such as MOSFETs, IGBTs, BJTs and HEMTs. A simple analog circuitry is proposed which ensures thermally and electrically stable powering and an exact operating voltage and current.