Effects of External Operating Conditions on the Reverse Recovery Behaviour of Fast Power Diodes

SummaryIn this paper, both experimetal and simulation results, showing the effects of Junction temperature, forward current and the rate of fall of forward current, or commutating di/dt on the reverse recoveyr behaviour of modern fast power diodes are presented. The main parameters used to characterise the reverse recover performance of a semiconductor diode, are the reverse recovery charge, peak recovery current and reverse recovery time. The diode snappiness phenomenon due to a current chop-off during reverse recovery, was also investigated and linked with the above parameters.