Leonardo Fragapane

Design of IGBT with integral freewheeling diode

A new power structure integrating a freewheeling diode in the termination region of a punch-through (PT) insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is presented. The proposed solution requires virtually no silicon area penalty with respect to a standard IGBT. Static and dynamic experimental results show the correct behavior of both IGBT and freewheeling diode. Further, it is shown that the lateral diode surrounding the multicellular IGBT can support IGBT direct current with low on-state voltage drop. The operation mechanisms of the composite structure and design techniques to improve structure dynamic behavior are investigated through two-dimensional numerical device simulations.

Integrated Si-based Opto-Couplers: a Novel Approach to Galvanic Isolation

In many applications the need of galvanic isolation for safety or functional requirements is very high. In this paper a new isolated opto-coupler device concept is presented. Our approach combines an isolation technology with the integration of a silicon-based optical transmission system. This new concept enhances design, flexibility, performances and reliability of the devices, resulting in space and cost saving. In the first section two isolation technologies will be presented. Subsequently, the transmission system will be elucidated. At last a case of application in the field of power devices will be presented.

Experimental evaluation of a 600 V super-junction planar PT IGBT prototype — Comparison with planar PT and trench gate PT technologies

We report, for the first time, an experimental electrical characterization of a super-junction PT IGBT feasibility study on applying the charge compensation device concept to a planar punch-through IGBT. We also performed a comparison both with a planar PT IGBT and a trench gate PT IGBT.

Preliminary experimental evaluation on PT-IGBT in parallel connection

This paper presents the problems associated with the parallel connection of punch through IGBTs, such as: thermal stability and current balance. An experimental investigation is conducted in the simplest case of two IGBT working in hard switching on an inductive load; a thermal analysis was performed by means of an infrared camera.