Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor Model Research Articles

A Novel Lumped-Charge Model for Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor Based on Dynamic Charge Control

The lumped-charge (LC) model of insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) provides an effective and efficient way to study its characteristics. However, the quasi-static assumption of the charge-control equation used in existing LC models will impair the accuracy of the model during the switching transient. Thus, in this paper, a dynamic charge-control (DCC) equation that provides a direct solution of the derivative of LC with time is proposed to determine the more precise charge dynamics. In this way, the redistribution effect of charge dynamics arising from moving boundaries can be well accounted for. Moreover, a charge concentration expression for a planar-gate structure as a function of the intercell region geometry is derived to incorporate the 2-dimensional (2-D) excess carrier distribution at the MOS side. This expression is integrated into the proposed IGBT model to improve the boundary condition and provide a better description of excess carrier dynamics. The effectiveness of the proposed model is verified by comparison with the existing LC model and TCAD simulation under the premise of known device parameters. The accuracy of the proposed model is further verified by experiments including both the static and transient characteristics and compared with the existing LC IGBT model using the same advanced parameter extraction.

Effect of Solder Layer Void Damage on the Temperature of IGBT Modules.

Solder layer void is one of the main failure causes of power semiconductor devices, which will seriously affect the reliability of the devices. In this study, a 3D model of IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) packaging was built by DesignModeler. Based on ANSYS Workbench, the influence of void size, location, solder layer type, and thickness on the temperature distribution of the IGBT module was simulated. The results show that the larger the void radius, the higher the temperature of the IGBT module. The closer the void is to the center of the solder layer, the higher the temperature of the module. The void on the top corner of the solder layer had the greatest impact on the junction temperature of the IGBT module, and the shape of the void is also one of the factors that affect the temperature of the module. The denser the void distribution, the higher the temperature of the module. The temperature of the IGBT module was reduced from 62.656 °C to 59.697 °C by using nanosilver solder paste, and the overall heat dissipation performance of the module was improved by 5%. The temperature of the module increased linearly with the increase in solder layer thickness, and the temperature increased by 0.8 °C for every 0.025 mm increase in solder layer thickness. The simulation results have a guiding significance for improving the thermal stability of IGBT modules.

ANN-Aided Data-Driven IGBT Switching Transient Modeling Approach for FPGA-Based Real-Time Simulation of Power Converters

This article develops a novel feedforward neural networks (FFNNs)-based device-level model from a physical insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) model dataset by the proposed artificial neural network (ANN)-aided data-driven IGBT switching transient modeling approach, so that the physics-based IGBT models can be indirectly integrated into field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based real-time simulation of power converters. The main concept is to fit the turn-on/turn-off transient waveforms generated from a physics-based IGBT model by using multiple FFNNs with the same structure but different coefficients. Each FFNN is trained by a dataset covering the transient voltage/current values corresponding to all possible operating conditions at a given discrete time point during a transient. All FFNN coefficients are stored on FPGA. By applying the corresponding FFNN coefficients at each simulation time step, the switching transient waveforms can then be accurately reproduced. The proposed FFNN-based device-level model is designed into two intellectual property (IP) cores at 200 MHz with a fully pipelined structure, which allows the model to authentically reproduce transient waveforms with a 5-ns resolution. A four-phase floating interleaved boost converter (FIBC) is selected as a case study and simulated on a NI-PXIe FlexRIO FPGA real-time platform. The FPGA-based experimental results are compared with that from the LTspice offline simulator, which enables the validation of the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed modeling approach for real-time simulation of power converters.

An engineered solution to multi-physics of insulated gate bipolar transistor module considering electrical-thermal-mechanical coupling effect

A computational approach is developed for multi-physics modelling of Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) module considering the electrical-thermal-mechanical coupling effect. In this approach, the tetrahedral elements are used to build the finite element domains of an efficient IGBT model. Then, the discretized system equations of the IGBT model are obtained from the gradient smoothing technique and Galerkin weak form to describe the interaction between the electrical-thermal-mechanical coupling fields. In addition, stabilization items considering the variance of the electric field intensity, temperature gradient and strain gradient are also introduced when constructing the discrete system equations. Numerical evaluation is carried out to fully examine the validity of this method for the electrical-thermal-mechanical coupling analysis of IGBT module. The obtained results demonstrate that, when using the same tetrahedral mesh, the present approach is able to generate much higher accuracy, convergence and computing efficiency than the popular finite element method (FEM) methods. As a result, a good balance between the computing cost and calculating accuracy has been achieved by the proposed method to provide an efficient tool for the IGBT multi-physics coupling problem.

Research on the Influence of Bond Wire Lift-Off Position on the Electro-Thermal Characteristics of IGBT

Based on the actual packaging structure of insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) module, this article establishes the power loss model, and analyzes the influence of the position of the lift-off bond wire on the module. Through the theoretical analysis, it is found that the position of the lift-off bond wire is an important factor affecting the aging of the modules. And then the electrothermal coupling model of IGBT is established for simulation, and an experimental platform is built for verification. The results show that the distribution of bond wire lift-off position is one of the characteristics of bond wire failure. When the bond wire lift-off failure is concentrated on a single IGBT chip, it will accelerate the aging process of the modules. Therefore, this article considers that the position of the lift-off bond wire is a significant factor in the aging process of the modules, which should be fully considered in the bond wire state evaluation. In addition, the research results of this article can also provide theoretical reference for the optimization of IGBT module packaging structure.

Physics-Based Trench-Gate Field-Stop IGBT Modeling With Optimization-Based Parameter Extraction for Device Parameters

As a classical insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) structure, the trench-gate field-stop (FS) IGBT has been widely used. For more convenient application, physics-based trench-gate FS IGBT models have received great attentions due to its effectiveness in simulating key device properties. However, current IGBT modeling studies for this popular IGBT chip seldom investigate the depletion layer behavior under the trench-gate structure. This article first derives the physics-based miller capacitance formula for the trench-gate structure according to finite element method (FEM) simulation. Another haunting issue for these physics-based IGBT models is that the intrinsic device parameters are difficult to be extracted appropriately. Thus, an FEM FS IGBT model is established in Sentaurus TCAD as the benchmark. Then, an improved parameter extraction procedure for a Fourier-series-based (FSB) IGBT model is proposed based on the improved miller capacitance formula. By the particle swarm optimization algorithm, key device parameters for the FSB IGBT model can be successfully extracted by fitting the simulated waveforms to those by FEM simulation at a randomly selected turn-off operating condition. Parameters extracted through the proposed procedure using the FSB IGBT model with the improved miller capacitance formula are very close to the device parameters of the FEM model. More importantly, the reliability and the robustness of the extracted parameters are further validated by comparing the waveforms of FSB model with those of FEM model at different operating conditions.

A SPICE Model for IGBTs and Power MOSFETs Focusing on EMI/EMC in High-Voltage Systems

We describe two models of Power Transistors (IGBT, MOSFET); both were successfully used for the analysis of electromagnetic interference (EMI) and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) while modeling high-voltage systems (PFC, DC/DC, inverter, etc.). The first semi-mathematical–behavioral insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) model introduces nonlinear negative feedback generated in the semiconductor’s p+ and n+ layers, which are located near the metal contact of the IGBT emitter, to better describe the dynamic characteristics of the transistor. A simplified model of the metal–oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) in the IGBT is used to simplify this IGBT model. The second simpler behavioral model could be used to model both IGBTs and MOSFETs. Model parameters are obtained from datasheets and then adjusted using results from a single measurement test. Modeling results are compared with measured turn-on and turn-off waveforms for different types of IGBTs. To check the validation of the models, a brushless DC electric motor test setup with an inverter was created. Despite the simplicity of the presented models, a comparison of model predictions with hardware measurements revealed that the model accurately forecasted switch transients and aided EMI–EMC investigations.

An Improved Fourier-Series-Based IGBT Model by Mitigating the Effect of Gibbs Phenomenon at Turn on

The Fourier-series-based insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) model has been very effective in simulating its switching behaviors and meanwhile, reflecting carrier dynamics. However, in turn-on process, such a model has difficulty in distinguishing the boundary between undepleted area and depletion layer of the drift region due to Gibbs phenomenon and therefore, cannot accurately describe the carrier behavior of carrier storage region (CSR). In this study, the Fourier-series-based model is modified to determine the more precise depletion layer edge for turn on. This is achieved by utilizing the actual characteristics of the carrier concentration gradient at the edge of CSR in turn-on process. Such a modified model is implemented in MATLAB/Simulink and it can better reflect the depletion layer and simulate the distribution of both the carrier concentration and electric field during turn-on process. It corrects the unreasonable voltage tail caused by the error of drift region voltage calculation in previous models. The results of the proposed model under both the resistive load and inductive load are in good agreement with TCAD. Such a modified model can more accurately simulate both carrier dynamics and switching behaviors in the turn-on process.

SIMSCAPE Electrical Modelling of the IGBT with Parameter Optimization Using Genetic Algorithm

The concept introduced by MathWorks in the Simscape product is the link representation between the SIMSCAPE library components that correspond to physical connections transmitting power. In this paper, a power insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) model using MATLAB graphical software is reproduced. An electrical IGBT behavior model using the Simscape Electronics library components is developed and analyzed. This model is parameterized using the constructor datasheet to ensure a good representation of the dynamic and static IGBT behaviors. An extraction and optimization studies of the IGBT model parameters using a stochastic algorithm implemented in Matlab are presented. The proposed method is based on the Genetic Algorithm (GA) to perfectly extract and optimize the model parameters using the mathematical model circuit equations and the provided datasheet characteristics. A simulation in the Matlab/Simulink environment and a comparison with the experimental results for an IGBT device example are carried out to demonstrate the proposed model accuracy.

Research on Electro-thermal Model Simulation of IGBT Switching Transient

The electro-thermal model of Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor(IGBT) can be used to simulate the operating characteristics of devices at different temperatures. Considering the relationship between internal parameters, semiconductor physical constants and temperature, the electrical model of IGBT at a single temperature is extended to an electro-thermal model which can reflect the working characteristics at different temperatures. This model takes into account both simulation accuracy and simulation speed. Finally, the IGB model is selected, and the IGBT switching transient at different temperatures is verified by experiments.

Research on IGBT Limit Current Based on Heat Balance Analysis

Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor(IGBT) is the most widely used fully-controlled power electronic device at present, and the rated DC current and maximum pulse current given in the manual can’t reflect the working limit current. In this paper, considering the influence of temperature, the electrical model of IGBT is extended to electro-thermal model, and the stable point, unstable point and critical point of junction temperature are obtained by combining IGBT power consumption-temperature curve and heat transfer curve, thus the limit power consumption at the critical point is obtained, and the limit current is designed. Finally, experimental verification is carried out.

Electrothermal Modeling of the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) Using PSpice: Application to DC–DC Converter

In this paper, an improved electrothermal model of power IGBT was developed. The main local physical effects were taken into consideration. The suggested model is able to address the electrical and thermal effects. The model was confirmed through a comparison with other models having close characteristics for different circuits (DC–DC converter, turn-on and turn-off) and different temperatures. The IGBT model was implemented in the PSpice circuit simulation platform using PSpice standard components and analog behavior modeling (ABM) blocks. The IGBT switching performance was investigated under influence of different circuit elements (such as stray inductance, gate resistance and temperature) in order to study and estimate the on-state and switching losses pre-requisite for the design of various converter and inverter topologies. The comparison shows that these models are simple, tunable with the electric circuit software simulator. They are more capable of predicting the main circuit parameters needed for power electronic design. The transient thermal responses were demonstrated for the single pulse and repeat modes. The achieved results show that our model is suitable for full electrothermal simulations of power electronic circuits.

Expert System-Based EMI Modeling Method for IGBT in Electric Drive System of EV

In the working process of the electric drive system, the transient, high-amplitude, high-frequency voltage and current generated by the turn-on and turn-off of the IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) are the most important sources of electromagnetic interference in EVs (electric vehicles). To this end, this paper proposes an EMI (Electromagnetic interference) modeling method for IGBT power modules of electric drive systems, which can realize accurate simulation of EMI source characteristics. First, an expert system based on IGBT model library is proposed. Then the expert system is used to simulate the characteristic curves provided in the IGBT module datasheet and extract the key parameters. Based on the expert system, an IGBT behavioral model is established, and a double-pulse simulation circuit is built to evaluate the simulation waveforms of the collector-emitter voltage, gate-emitter voltage and collector current during the two pulse switching periods. At the same time, measure the collector-emitter voltage, gate-emitter voltage and collector current test waveforms collected in the above simulation test on the built double-pulse test circuit, and compare the turn-on and turn-off processes of the simulation and test respectively to evaluate the accuracy of the EMI source model. Finally, to further test the universality of the model, the IGBT behavior model and the double pulse simulation circuit are established on the Simulink platform, and the accuracy of the model is evaluated by comparing with the test waveform. The comparative analysis results show that the proposed EMI source modeling method for IGBT power module has good versatility and accuracy.

Physical modeling and design optimization of 4H-SiC insulated gate bipolar transistors for dv/dt reduction

The extremely high dv/dt of 4H-SiC insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) becomes the major concern in its next-generation large-volume power conversion applications because severe electromagnetic interference (EMI) is induced. However, the root reason for its high dv/dt and the method of suppressing EMI have not been extensively investigated yet. In this paper, we proposed a novel physical model for SiC IGBT to identify the major limiting device design parameters of dv/dt during switching transients. The influences of SiC IGBT’s design parameters on its dv/dt and power dissipation are quantitatively analyzed by means of the physical model. Comparisons between the theoretical predictions and technology computer-aided design simulation results validate the physical model. The results on design optimization of a 18 kV n-channel SiC IGBT shows that 80% reduction of dv/dt and 60% reduction in turn-off power dissipation are achieved simultaneously without sacrificing its forward voltage drop.

Real-Time Simulation of Power Electronic Systems Based on Predictive Behavior

The field-programmable gate array (FPGA) based hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) test, which minimizes the time-step of the real-time simulation below 500 ns, is an enabling technology for the development of the control unit of high-power electronic systems (HPE). In order to improve the time performance of FPGA-based HiL, this article proposes a novel parallel structure using the predictive behavior of the power electronic system. With this structure, we design an improved system-level solver applied to HPE. A piecewise insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) model is used to determine the state of the switch, offering a quasi-realistic model of the power converter. A parallel integration method is also implemented to solve the status of the circuit elements. Moreover, the proposed parallel structural can execute both the IGBT model and circuit element model at the same time, thus, reducing the simulation time-step significantly. The numerical accuracy of the solution, the architecture design, and the issue of the parallel computation are discussed in detail. An ac-dc-ac topology is presented as a case study. At last, a 25 ns time step in the National Instruments FlexRIO platform is achieved. Results comparison with the reference model is also identified and discussed.

A Physical Thermal Network Model of Press Pack IGBTs Considering Spreading and Coupling Effects

With the advantages of high-power density, easy series connection, and failure short-circuit mode, the press pack packaging technology has been widely adapted in insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) which are applied for high-voltage and high-power density power apparatuses. Accurate modeling of temperature field in the press pack IGBTs (PP IGBTs) is vitally significant with the increasing power density. First, the heat dissipation structure in the PP IGBTs is analyzed in detail in this article. Then, a physical network model is established, which has physical meaning and can be applied in structural design of the PP IGBTs. The heat spreading and thermal coupling effects which mainly are introduced by larger size electrode plates have been considered in the proposed model. For accurate and fast extraction of thermal resistance, an analytical method is proposed and compared with the traditional fixed angle method and finite element method (FEM), respectively. The comparison result shows that the proposed analytical method has enough accuracy, good convergency, and low calculated amount. The proposed new model not only could be fast set by using the analytical method but also can reflect the influence of submodule position, heat dissipation condition, and adjacent submodules, which cannot be contained in the conventional model. The proposed model has maintained accuracy close to the 3-D FEM model, but its calculation amount is much less. The accuracy of the proposed model is also verified through an experiment. Moreover, based on the analytical solution derived, the influence of different factors on submodule path thermal resistance and coupling thermal resistances is revealed and discussed.

A New Lumped-Charge Modeling Method for Power Semiconductor Devices

This article proposes a new lumped-charge model for power semiconductor devices. The existing lumped-charge model, due to its linear modeling method, has some limitations that will impair the accuracy of the model. First, this article analyses the restriction of the traditional lumped-charge modeling method. Then, based on the limitation analysis, a new lumped-charge modeling method is presented and improves the accuracy of the traditional one while keeping its advantages. In this new model, the relationship between the ambipolar current and the LCs in the power devices is redefined. Finally, the new method is implemented to an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) model and a PiN freewheeling diode. The accuracy of the models is verified by experiment including both the static and transient characteristics and compared with the traditional IGBT model.

The Influence of Driving Parameters on Conducted EMI for an IGBT Module

Insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) has been widely used in the voltage-source-converter-based high-voltage direct current (VSC-HVDC). However, the electromagnetic interference (EMI) generated by its fast switching process affects the normal operation of the surrounding power equipment. The switching voltage and current of IGBT are the main sources of EMI. Different driving circuit parameters result in different IGBT switching characteristics. In this article, the switching model of IGBT is introduced first and the influence of driving parameters on EMI sources is analyzed. Based on the conducted EMI experiment platform of an IGBT module, the time-domain waveforms of switching voltage and current under different driving parameters are obtained and compared with the model. Then the interference voltage spectrums are measured by an EMI receiver under different driving parameters. The influence of driving parameters on conducted EMI in 0.15–30 MHz is then analyzed and explained by combining the result of time domain and frequency domain. This article comprehensively analyzes the relationship between driving parameters and EMI sources and summarizes the influence characteristics of driving parameters on common-mode (CM) and differential-mode (DM) noise. The conclusions can help the parameters design of driving board, which can effectively reduce the conducted EMI of the converter.

Characteristics and Influence Factors of Radiated Disturbance Induced by IGBT Switching

The setup for testing radiated disturbance induced by insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and auxiliary circuits was established. The radiated disturbance characteristics of auxiliary circuits and methods to suppress the radiated electromagnetic interference (EMI) were experimentally studied. The radiated EMI bandwidth of the auxiliary circuit was concentrated in the range 30–300 MHz. The mathematical model for an IGBT was proposed based on the setup, which includes all the structures of the IGBT in detail. The electric fields were calculated from the IGBT model using the method of moments. Moreover, the characteristics of the radiated disturbances due to the IGBT operation and the effects of metal on the radiated electric fields were experimentally and calculatingly studied in the frequency range 1–30 MHz. The metal shielded box of drive can increase the radiated electric fields by approximately 10–30 dB in the range 1–30 MHz. The electric fields for all the frequencies decreased rapidly with the increase of distance. Additionally, methods to shield the IGBT in order to suppress the radiated EMI were proposed. The effective radiated EMI reduction from a shielded net was approximately 20 dB, and that of a shielded box was around 30 dB.

A Physics-Based Transient Electrothermal Model of High-Voltage Press-Pack IGBTs Under HVdc Interruption

The wide use of press-pack insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) in high-voltage dc (HVdc) applications makes the accurate modeling of high-voltage press-pack IGBTs more urgent. Based on the mechanism of the switching transient, a physics-based electrothermal transient model of the high-voltage press-pack IGBT is proposed. Considering the wider base width of high-voltage IGBTs (HVIGBTs), a transient model of the HVIGBT with buffer layer is presented taking into account the carrier recombination in the base region and the injection level in the buffer layer. Besides, a modified thermal network of press-pack IGBTs is implemented considering the double-sided heat transfer structure. An electrothermal coupling model of high-voltage press-pack IGBTs is then obtained combining the proposed electro and thermal models. Finally, simulations of key dynamic performances of the proposed HVIGBT model match well with the testing results. Furthermore, the HVdc interruption process of a solid breaker with different number of series-connected IGBTs is simulated using the proposed IGBT model and tested. The testing results show good consistency between the simulated and measured voltage and current of the series-connected press-pack IGBTs, which brings strong support to the accurate design of solid breakers in the HVdc transmissions.