• The Magazine of the IEIE
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.57-71
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• 2008

The last decade has witnessed great improvements in power semiconductor devices thanks to the advanced design and process, which have made it possible to significantly improve the electrical performances of electronic systems while simultaneously reducing their site, weight and perhaps most importantly reducing their cost. Among the power semiconductor devices, IGBT will be a key semiconductor component for power industry since it has a huge potential to cover large areas of power electronics from small home appliances to heavy industries. Currently, only a few limited power semiconductor manufacturers supply most of the industrial consumptions of power IGBT and its modules. Therefore, a large portion of technology in the power industry is dependent on other advanced countries. In this regard, to independently build power IGBT devices and the relevant power module technology, Korean government initiated a new 5-year project 'Power IT,' which also aimed at booming the business of the power semiconductor and the allied industries. With the success of this power IT project, it is expected that the power semiconductor technology will be a basis to foster the high power semiconductor industry and moreover, there will be more innovative developments in the Korea region and globally Also, forming the channel between the customers and suppliers, it is possible to effectively develop the customized power products, which could strengthen the competitiveness of Korean power industry. Furthermore, the power industry including semiconductor manufacturers will be technologically self-supporting and be able to obtain good business opportunities, and eventually increase the share in the growing power semiconductor market, which could be positioned as a major industry in Korea.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2003.07c
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• pp.1556-1558
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• 2003

IGCT devices is a superior devices for power conversion purpose. The basic structure of the IGCT devices is same as that of GTO thyristor. This makes the blocking voltage higher and controllable on-state current higher. In this paper, we present static and dynamic characteristics of 4.5 kV PT-type IGCT devices as a function of minority carrier lifetime, n-base thickness and n-buffer thickness. We should choose proper structural parameters for good electrical characteristics of GCT devices.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.56 no.9
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• pp.1638-1642
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• 2007

This paper investigated the destruction effect of the semiconductors by impact of high power electromagnetic wave. The experiments is employed as an open-ended waveguide to study the destruction effects on semiconductor using a 2.45 GHz 600 W Magnetron as a high power electromagnetic wave. The semiconductors are located at a distance of $31cm\sim40cm$ from the open-ended waveguide and are composed of a LED drive circuit for visual discernment. Also the chip condition of semiconductor is observed by SEM(Scanning Electron Microscope) analysis. The semiconductor are damaged by high power electromagnetic wave at about 860 V/m. The SEM analysis of the destructed devices showed onchipwire and bondwire destructions. Based on the result, semiconductor devices should have plan to protect the semiconductor devices form high power electromagnetic wave. And the database from this experiment provides the basis for future investigation.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1380-1391
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• 2015

This paper provides a loss analysis and comparison of high power semiconductor devices in 5MW Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) Medium Voltage (MV) Wind Turbine Systems (WTSs). High power semiconductor devices of the press-pack type IGCT, module type IGBT, press-pack type IGBT, and press-pack type IEGT of both 4.5kV and 6.5kV are considered in this paper. Benchmarking is performed based on the back-to-back type 3-level Neutral Point Clamped Voltage Source Converters (3L-NPC VSCs) supplied from a grid voltage of 4160V. The feasible number of semiconductor devices in parallel is designed through a loss analysis considering both the conduction and switching losses under the operating conditions of 5MW PMSG wind turbines, particularly for application in offshore wind farms. This paper investigates the loss analysis and thermal performance of 5MW 3L-NPC wind power inverters under the operating conditions of various power factors. The loss analysis and thermal analysis are confirmed through PLECS Blockset simulations with Matlab Simulink. The comparison results show that the press-pack type IGCT has the highest efficiency including the snubber loss factor.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2013.07a
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• pp.386-387
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• 2013

This paper provides a comparison of high power semiconductor devices in 5MW-class Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) Medium Voltage (MV) wind turbines. High power semiconductor devices of IGBT module type, IGBT press-pack type, and IGCT of both 4.5kV and 6.5kV are considered in this paper. Benchmarking is performed based on neutral-point clamed 3-level back-to-back type voltage source converter supplied from grid voltage of 4160V. The feasible number of semiconductor devices in parallel is designed through the loss analysis considering both conduction and switching losses under the given operating conditions of 5MW-class PMSG wind turbines, particularly for the application in offshore wind farms. The loss analysis is confirmed through PLECS simulations. The comparison result shows that IGBT press-pack type semiconductor device has the highest efficiency and IGCT has the lowest cost factor considering the necessary auxiliary components.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2004.07a
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• pp.280-283
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• 2004

This paper discribes the design concept, fabrication process and measuring result of 2.5kV Gate Commutated Thyristor devices. Integrated gate commutated thyristors(IGCTs) is the new power semiconductor device used for high power inverter, converter, static var compensator(SVC) etc. Most of the ordinary GTOs(gate turn-off thyristors) are designed as non-punch-through(NPT) concept; i.e. the electric field is reduced to zero within the N-base region. In this paper, we propose transparent anode structure for fast turn-off characteristics. And also, to reach high breakdown voltage, we used 2-stage bevel structure. Bevel angle is very important for high power devices, such as thyristor structure devices. For cathode topology, we designed 430 cathode fingers. Each finger has designed $200{\mu}m$ width and $2600{\mu}m$ length. The breakdown voltage between cathode and anode contact of this fabricated GCT device is 2,715V.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2003.07a
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• pp.357-360
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• 2003

In this paper, we designed 4.5kV/1.5kA IGCT devices. GCT thyristor has many superior characteristics compared with GTO thyristor, for examples; snubberless turn-off capability, short storage time, high turn-on capability, small turn-off gate charge and low total power loss of the application system containing device and peripheral parts such as anode reactor and snubber capacitance. In this paper we designed GCT thyristor devices, and analyzed static and dynamic characteristics of GCT thyristor depending on the minority carrier lifetime, n-base thickness and doping concentration of n-base region, respectively. Especially, turn-on and turn-off characteristics are very important characteristics for GCT thyristor devices. So, we considered above characteristic for design and analysis of GCT devices.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.845-848
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• 2009

Power semiconductor devices are semiconductor devices used as switches or rectifiers in power electronics circuits. Theyare also caleed power devices or when used in integrated circuits, called power ICs. Some common power devices are the power diode, thyristor, power MOSFET and IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor). A power diode or MOSFET operates on similar principles to its low-power counterpart, but is able to carry a larger amount of current and typically is able to support a larger reverse-bias voltage in the off-state. Structural changes are often made in power devices to accommodate the higher current density, higher power dissipation and/or higher reverse breakdown voltage. The vast majority of the discrete (i.e non integrated) power devices are built using a vertical structure, whereas small-signal devices employ a lateral structure. With the vertical structure, the current rating of the device is proportional to its area, and the voltage blocking capability is achieved in the height of the die. With this structure, one of the connections of the device is located on the bottom of the semiconductor.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.71-78
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• 2014

Silicon has been most widely used semiconductor material for power electronic systems. However, Si-based power devices have attained their working limits and there are a lot of efforts for alternative Si-based power devices for better performance. Advances in power electronics have improved the efficiency, size, weight and materials cost. New wide band gap materials such as SiC have now been introduced for high power applications. SiC power devices have been evolved from lab scale to a viable alternative to Si electronics in high-efficiency and high-power density applications. In this article, the potential impact of SiC devices for power applications will be discussed along with their Si counterpart in terms of higher switching performance, higher voltages and higher power density. The recent progress in the development of high voltage power semiconductor devices is reviewed. Future trends in device development and industrialization are also addressed.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.175-181
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• 2006

Wide band-gap semiconductor electron devices have made great progresses to produce very high power amplifiers for various wireless standards. The advantages of wide band-gap electronic devices and their progresses are summarized in this paper.