Short-Circuit Failure Mechanism and Robustness Analysis of 15kV SiC IGBT

This paper comprehensively investigates the short-circuit robustness of 15 kV 4H silicon carbide (SiC) insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) using TCAD numerical electro-thermal simulations. The article quantitatively analyzes the mechanism of current latch-up inside SiC IGBTs under short-circuit conditions, investigates the effects of key parameters on short-circuit robustness, and reveals the intrinsic mechanisms by which parameter variations affect robustness. In addition, an optimization design method of structural parameter is proposed in this article. The optimum result shows that the short-circuit withstand time is increased by 76.7%, the turn-off loss is reduced by 38.4%, and the forward voltage drop is increased by only 2.7%.