Effects of magnetic field on the carrier density distribution of semiconductor power device operated in pulsed power conditions

Abstract

AbstractTurn‐on characteristics of semiconductor power devices are evaluated under external magnetic field to study the effects of external magnetic field generated in a pulsed power circuit. Two pin diodes that have a basic structure of power devices are connected in parallel and driven by a pulsed voltage source. It was found the magnetic field applied to one diode in the perpendicular direction of current‐flow changed the current balance between the diodes. Besides the on‐resistance of a diode was increased under external magnetic field. The carrier‐density distribution inside of the diodes was measured by using a free carrier absorption method. The data show that the carrier‐density distribution changes from nearly the uniform one to the one‐sided one. It can be concluded that the effects of magnetic‐field have to be considered for the evaluation of switching characteristic in pulsed power operations. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 147(1): 10–16, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.10271