Performance of 600-V n-channel IGBTs at low temperatures

The static and dynamic performance of 600-V, n-channel, vertical insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) at temperatures as low as 77 K has been measured and analyzed. The IGBTs demonstrate a better performance in turn-off times and maximum gate controllable current, at the expense of a slightly higher forward drop. It is shown that inherent in the IGBT is a parasitic thyristor that must be suppressed to retain gate-control operation. At 300 K, the dynamic latching current or maximum gate controllable current of the n-IGBT was 3.3 A, but it was current limiting at 5.4 A at both 195 and 77 K. Hence, by simply lowering the operating temperature, one can achieve the desirable current-limiting feature rather than encounter the often destructive latching behavior.<<ETX>>