Application note 5SYA 2057-01

IGBT diode safe operating area (SOA)

The majority of IGBT applications require

a reverse conduction mode, ie the IGBT
should be accompanied by an antiparallel
diode for bi-directional conduction, also
called a freewheeling diode (FWD) or fast
recovery diode (FRD). The rapid develop-
ment of IGBTs in recent years led to the
expansion of reverse blocking SOA, which
also increased the demand for comple-
mentary robust diodes. Complementary
means that the diode has to match the
active switching component and must
fulfill the same or even higher SOA bound-
aries.

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Contents

Page

1 Introduction 3
1.1 Data sheet parameters 3

2 Diode design 5
2.1 On-state – Turn-off loss trade-off, parameter deviation 5
2.2 Paralleling of chips 5
2.3 Forward recovery 6

3 SOA 6
3.1 Data sheet SOA 6
3.2 High di/dt limitation 7
3.3 Peak power failure, IF, VCC, RG, CGE, clamp 7
3.4 Low current snap-off 7

4 References 8

2 IGBT diode safe operating area I Application Note 5SYA 2057-01

1 Introduction
Traditionally, the diode area in IGBT modules is approximately half design and verification phase, which are mandatory to achieve safe
of the IGBT area and the diodes have to accomplish low conduc- and reliable operation.
tion and switching losses with high SOA, because accordingly
the thermal conductivity is also half of the IGBT. Therefore, diode 1.1 Data sheet parameters
demands are contradictive and the freewheeling diode design is An explanation of the main data sheet parameters can be found in
not less but even more complicated than for the IGBT in many the application note 5SYA2053 “Applying IGBT” [2]. Here we will
aspects. concentrate on the diode parameters. The FWD part in the data
The purpose of this application note is to outline the safe opera- sheet of 5SNA 1500E330305 is taken as an example.
tion principles, which should be considered during the circuit

Maximum rated values 1)

Parameter Symbol Conditions Min Max Unit
Collector-emitter voltage VCES VGE = 0 V, Tvj ≥ 25 °C 3300 V
DC collector current IC TC = 100 °C, Tvj = 150 °C 1500 A
Peak collector current ICM tp = 1 ms 3000 A
Gate-emitter voltage VGES -20 20 V
Total power dissipation Ptot TC = 25 °C, Tvj = 150 °C 14700 W
DC forward current IF 1500 A
Peak forward current IFRM tp = 1 ms 3000 A
Surge current IFSM VR = 0 V, Tvj = 150 °C, 13500 A
tp = 10 ms, half-sinewave
IGBT short circuit SOA tpsc VCC = 2500 V, VCEM CHIP ≤ 3300 V 10 µs
VGE ≤ 15 V, Tvj ≤ 150 °C
Isolation voltage Visol 1 min, f = 50 Hz 6000 V
Junction temperature Tvj 175 °C
Junction operating temperature Tvj(op) -50 150 °C
Case temperature TC -50 150 °C
Storage temperature Tstg -50 125 °C
Ms Base-heatsink, M6 screws 4 6
Mounting torques 2) Mt1 Main terminals, M8 screws 8 10 Nm
Mt2 Auxiliary terminals, M4 screws 2 3
1)
Maximum rated values indicate limits beyond which damage to the device may occur per IEC 60747
2)
For detailed mounting instructions refer to ABB Document No. 5SYA 2039

VCES: Collector-emitter voltage: The maximum voltage that could IFRM: Peak forward current: The maximum peak current that the
be applied between the collector and the emitter. Applying volt- diode part of the module can conduct.
ages to the module in excess of this limit, even for a short dura-
tion, can lead to device failure. IFSM: Surge current: Maximum non-repetitive surge current is the
The collector – emitter voltage has a strong temperature depen- maximum allowed pulse-width-dependent peak value of a half-
dency. Most ABB IGBT modules have been designed to have full sinusoidal surge current, applied at an instant when the diode is
blocking voltage within the total operating temperature range but operating at its maximum junction temperature. Though a single
there are a few exceptions where the temperature range, across surge at the given conditions does not cause any irreversible
which the rated voltage is valid, is reduced. This is shown in the damage to the module, it should not occur too frequently due to
data sheet at conditions where the temperature range for the the thermal stress applied to the module during the surge.
rated blocking voltage is specified. During a surge, the junction heats up to a temperature well above
High DC voltages applied to any semiconductor will provoke high its rated maximum value such that the diode is no longer able to
failure rates due to cosmic radiation. For this reason, the operat- block the rated voltage; the surge current values are therefore
ing DC voltage is much lower than the peak repetitive voltage VCES only valid when no voltage is reapplied after the surge.
defined above. This is explained and specified in the application Please refer to the application note 5SYA 2058, “Surge currents
note 5SYA 2042, “Failure rates of HiPak modules due to for IGBT diodes” [3].
cosmic rays” [4]. For voltage design recommendations see the
application note 5SYA 2051, “Voltage ratings of high power
semiconductors” [5].

IF: DC forward current: The maximum DC-current that the diode

part of the module can conduct at the given conditions. Exceed-
ing this limit will lead to over-heating of the device.

3 IGBT diode safe operating area I Application Note 5SYA 2057-01

 Diode characteristic values 5)
Parameter Symbol Conditions Min Typ Max Unit
Tvj = 25 °C 2.05 2.5 V
Forward voltage 6)
VF IF = 1500 A Tvj = 125 °C 2.25 2.6 V
Tvj = 150 °C 2.20 V

Tvj = 25 °C 1700 A

Reverse recovery current Irr Tvj = 125 °C 1850 A

Tvj = 150 °C 1900 A

Tvj = 25 °C 950 µC
VCC = 1800 V,
Recovered charge Qrr Tvj = 125 °C 1550 µC
IF = 1500 A,
VGE = ±15 V, Tvj = 150 °C 1800 µC

RG = 1.0 W, CGE = 330 nF, Tvj = 25 °C 1050 ns

Reverse recovery time trr di/dt = 6 kA/µs Tvj = 125 °C 1350 ns

Lσ = 100 nH, inductive load
Tvj = 150 °C 1500 ns

Tvj = 25 °C 1150 mJ

Reverse recovery energy Erec Tvj = 125 °C 1900 mJ

Tvj = 150 °C 2250 mJ

5)
Characteristic values according to IEC 60747 – 2r halves blocking in forward direction
6)
Forward voltage is given at chip level

Lσ
VF: Forward voltage: The anode-cathode on-state voltage of
the diode at the specified conditions. It is given at chip level and
includes the bond-wire resistance but not the terminal resistance
which is separately specified.
All switching parameters are defined in a phase-leg connection AUX
using an auxiliary component of the same type as the device
Lload
under test (DUT), see figure 1. For the definitions of the different +
switching parameters see figure 2. All switching parameters in the
ABB data sheet are specified for inductive load.
Note that other manufacturers may use different definitions for
diode turn-off parameters. This must be taken into consideration DUT
when comparing modules from different suppliers.

Figure 1 Test circuit for the dynamic performance of the diode

Figure 2 Definitions for the diode turn-off parameters

4 IGBT diode safe operating area I Application Note 5SYA 2057-01

Irr: Reverse recovery current: The peak value of the reverse cur-
rent during commutation at the specified conditions.
Err, Qrr
Qrr: Reverse recovery charge: The integral over time of the reverse
current during commutation at the specified conditions starting
at the zero-crossing of the current and ending when the reverse
current has decayed to zero after the tail-current phase.
Thick silicon (soft, high
trr: Reverse recovery time: The commutation time of the diode at losses)
the specified conditions. It is measured between the current zero-
crossing and the zero-crossing of a straight line drawn between
90% of the reverse current peak on the rising flank and 25 % of
peak (on the falling flank).
Thin silicon (snappy, low
Erec: Reverse recovery energy: The energy dissipated during a losses)
single reverse recovery event. It is the integration of the product
of the reverse current and voltage from t0 to t1 (see figure 2) as
expressed by equation 1.

VF
Equation 1
Figure 3 Technology curves

ABB diodes are specially designed for parallel operation, with a

positive temperature coefficient of the forward voltage drop VF
In “conditions”, the nominal operation conditions are specified as
already around nominal current.
the gate resistor and the driving voltage, which define the speed
The stray inductance of the circuit is mainly given by the converter
of the commutation (di/dt).
construction. With an increased number of modules switched in
parallel, the effective overvoltage V = Lσ*di/dt is also increased if
2 Diode design
di/dt per module stays the same as in a single module operation.
2.1 On-state – Turn-off loss trade-off, parameter deviation
It can be illustrated as Lσ increase per module see figure 4.
The IGBT freewheeling diodes have to combine low on-state
losses with high immunity to dynamic stresses. Semiconduc-
tor devices are often characterized with a so-called technology
curve – the trade-off curve of the reverse recovery energy Err or Lσ = 100 nH
reverse recovery charge Qrr versus the forward voltage VF. This
means, that in principle every single point on this curve can be
targeted. Figure 3 shows an example of such a trade-off curve. It
is, therefore, possible to design diodes either with a rather low Err + +
C LLoad C
but increased VF or diodes with a low VF and high Err. The trade- DC link
- DC link
-
off curve can be achieved either by varying the current density or
by variation of the carrier lifetime. A larger chip size results gener-
ally in a lower forward voltage VF, because the current density is
lowered which additionally improves the thermal capabilities of
the chip and is therefore an advantage. But simultaneously the
switching losses increase and the cost aspect has its drawback.
The tendency to makeLσa=very “soft” diode through silicon thick-
100 nH Lσ1 = Lσ2 = Lσ3 = 300 nH
ness also results in a poor technology curve. Soft diodes through
local lifetime killing can be achieved with a very competitive tech- Lσ1 Lσ2 Lσ3
nology curve, but to the cost of increased leakage current. [8]
The ABB diodes+ are designed in a way that they can suite the L +
LLoad
C Load C
majority DCof link
known
- applications. DC link
-

2.2 Paralleling of chips

Single diode dies are limited in current capability by the specific
current density per voltage class. To overcome this limitation,
single dies are connected in parallel, as many as necessary, for a
given module current capability. The dies have though a param-
eter spread which in some limiting cases can lead to an overload
Figure 4 Inductances at different configurations to achieve the same di/dt.
of particular dies. To overcome that problem design measures are
taken, but some derating of single die parameters is necessary.

5 IGBT diode safe operating area I Application Note 5SYA 2057-01

The peak power during diode turn-off as a product of voltage
and current will also increase proportionally to the overvoltage. A
high overvoltage can lead to strong dynamic avalanche (additional
carrier generation) and further increase the peak power. A design
utilizing parallel module operation has a higher demand on the
total stray inductance and the gate drive should be adjusted to
keep the diode within the specified limits, which is explained in
section 3.

2.3 Forward recovery

One other known phenomenon of the high voltage diode is the
so-called forward recovery. When a current is applied in the
forward direction the diode voltage does not rise smoothly and
monotonically from its initial blocking value to a steady-state
forward bias value of a few volts. The diode in its blocking phase
behaves as a charged capacitor (space charge capacitor) which
has to be discharged when the voltage changes polarity across
the diode. The stored charge is proportional to the diode voltage
class. (figure 5) Another part of the voltage builds across the di-
ode due to ohmic resistance of the drift region and the inductance
of the silicon chip and of the bond wires attached to it. As the for-
ward current grows in time, there is no conductivity modulation of
the region until the space charge layer is discharged to its thermal
Figure 6 Forward voltage di/dt dependence, with and witout antiparallel IGBT
equilibrium value. The circuit stray inductance also adds a signifi-
cant voltage drop at a higher di/dt. The combined effect of these
3 SOA
two facts is a voltage overshoot that can be as large as several
3.1 Data sheet SOA
hundred volts. This voltage is applied to the antiparallel IGBT and
The safe operating area (SOA) diagram (figure 7) shows the diode
because it exceeds the reverse blocking capability of the IGBT,
reverse voltage vs. the recovery current limits of the diode at the
the IGBT is driven into reverse avalanche. Some charge is gener-
specified conditions. The specified SOA must not be exceeded at
ated in the IGBT, which recombines during diode conduction, but
any instant of the recovery process under rated conditions. The
with a short diode conduction time some remaining charge will be
SOA diagram has the following areas:
added to the diode reverse recovery charge. In addition, the gate
1. High value of forward current and as a consequence - high Irr:
drive circuitry which measures the collector voltage or acts as an
reverse recovery current often limited by the value of maxi-
active clamp has to be designed accordingly to withstand the full
mum forward current. A maximum recommended negative
forward voltage.
di/dt value (mainly defined by recommended gate driving and
stray inductance) is given in the diagram.
2. Peak power limitation - higher Lσ as stated above with given
di/dt will contribute to higher overvoltage and peak power.
By tracing the curves of vR(t) and iR(t) the peak power at any
RG and Lσ accordingly to test
instant can be calculated, in case of the 1,500 A module their
conditions for particular
product should not exceed the peak power of 3 MW, see
voltage class
figure 7.
3. Low current – high overvoltage, higher Lσ and di/dt will lead
to exceeding the allowed voltage.
Three real waveforms illustrate where the limitations occur. As
described in [6] there are two major failure mechanisms in diodes
during reverse recovery: low current snap-off and peak power
failure.

Figure 5 Forward voltage dependence of blocking voltage.

6 IGBT diode safe operating area I Application Note 5SYA 2057-01

 3.2 High di/dt limitation
Even with low Lσ very high di/dt can provoke diode destruction,
so the recommended di/dt should not be exceeded.

3.3 Peak power failure, IF, VCC, RG, CGE, clamp

The second type of failure mode, termed as reverse-recovery
dynamic avalanching or peak power occurs at high di/dt switch-
ing speeds. Normally, the process itself is safe if the device does
not exhibit any non-uniformity in the recovery current. However,
dynamic avalanching can result in the generation of a hot spot
in the silicon die due to non-uniform current distribution leading
to the destruction of the device. The causes of these hot spots
can range from process to material variations in a single diode
and silicon chip to non-uniform cooling of the module. To prevent
this failure mode, certain design/process considerations must be
taken into account to minimize the effects of any current filamen-
tation. One of the major factors of this failure is also the circuit
stray inductance. Higher stray inductance produces higher volt-
age stress and drives the diode into dynamic avalanche directly
after the beginning of current decay, when non-uniformities in the
recovery current are most possible. The forward current defines
how much energy is stored in the stray inductance, but at higher
currents the IGBT switching velocity is also lower, and it reduces
stress on the diode.
Operating at DC-link voltages above the nominal levels leads to
an increase of dv/dt and peak power. If the gate unit does not
have a voltage feedback loop, operation with high di/dt and for-
ward currents can lead to failure.
The gate resistor defines the switching velocity of the IGBT, and
the turn-off di/dt of the diode. The data sheet shows the value of
Rgon which guarantees safe operation at the described conditions.
For some modules a gate emitter capacitor CGE is also recom-
mended. The utilization of CGE helps the user to keep a lower Eon
due to the possibility of using lower Rgon values, and still oper-
ate the diode inside SOA boundaries. During turn-on additional
capacitance between the gate-emitter helps to accelerate the
voltage fall, which helps to reduce turn–on loss up to 50%. It is
important to mount the recommended gate emitter capacitor CGE
directly onto the module’s auxiliary connections to obtain the best
results.

3.4 Low current snap-off

One of the most common and catastrophic failure modes in fast
diodes is snappiness during diode reverse recovery. It is known
Figure 7 Safe operating area diagrams for the diode that under adverse combinations of high commutating di/dt, large
circuit stray inductance, low forward current and low junction
temperature it is likely that all fast power diodes produce exces-
sive voltage spikes due to snappy recovery [8]. The depletion of
the remaining stored charge during the recovery period results in a
current discontinuity (chop-off). This produces a very high
di/dt and, hence, large voltage overshoot which may result in the
destruction of the device.
In pulse width modulation (PWM) operation very short conduction
times can occur. The diode due to short conduction will not be
fully filled with carriers, so current discontinuity as described above
is possible not only at low forward currents. Hence, short turn-on
time can also result in the destruction of the device.
The temperature dependency of the above described phenomena
can be critical for different diode technologies. Reliable design
needs careful verification of critical parameters within the complete
operation temperature range.
In some cases, when the circuit inductance is too high (the need

7 IGBT diode safe operating area I Application Note 5SYA 2057-01

to slow down the switching speed to avoid excessive overvoltages Zehner diode network connected between the collector and the
leads to unacceptable switching losses), it is advantageous to use gate. The use of this method has to be combined with a careful
an active voltage clamp to dissipate energy stored in the stray thermal load calculation of the IGBT, because additional losses are
inductance. The name “active” comes from the use of the IGBT in generated.
a linear “active” mode. The IGBT will be driven in the active region Sample waveforms below show the diode turn-off behavior at
when the voltage across it exceeds the avalanche voltage of the specified SOA conditions over an operation temperature range.

SOA measurements on 5SNA 1500E330305 IGBT module Ic = 3000 A, Vcc = 2400 V

Tj = -40 °C Tj = 25 °C Tj = 125 °C

SOA measurements on 5SNA 0600G650100 IGBT module Ic = 1200 A, Vcc = 4200 V

Tj = -40 °C Tj = 25 °C Tj = 125 °C

4 References
[1] IEC Standard 60747 “Semiconductor Devices”
[2] 5SYA 5023 “ Appling IGBT” SOA performance for high voltage IGBTs and Diodes” Proc.
[3] 5SYA 2058 “Surge currents for IGBT Diodes” ISPSD’04, pp. 437 440, Kitakyushu, Japan, May 2004.
[4] 5SYA 2042 “Thermal Runaway” [10] A. Kopta, M.T. Rahimo “The Field Charge Extraction (FCE)
[5] 5SYA 2051 “Voltage dimensioning of high power semicon- Diode A Novel Technology for Soft Recovery High Voltage
ductors” Diodes” Proc. ISPSD’05, pp. 83-86, Santa Barbara, USA,
[6] M.T. Rahimo, N.Y.A. Shammas, “Freewheeling Diode Re- May 2005.
verse Recovery Failure Modes in IGBT Applications“ IEEE
Transactions on Industrial Application, Vol. 37, No. 2, March/ 5 Revision history
April 2001, pp 661 - 670.
[7] Stefan Linder “Power Semiconductors” ISBN: 2-940222-09-
Version Change Authors
6, EPFL-Press 2006, 280 pp, (US ISBN 0-8427-2569-7).
01 Evgeny Tsyplakov
[8] M.T. Rahimo, A. Kopta, S. Eicher , N. Kaminski, F. Bauer,

U. Schlapbach, S. Linder, “Extending the Boundary Limits
of High Voltage IGBTs and Diodes to above 8kV”, Proc.
ISPSD’02, pp. 41-44, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, June
2002.
[9] M.T. Rahimo, A. Kopta, S. Eicher, U. Schlapbach, S. Linder,
“Switching-Self-Clamping-Mode “SSCM”, a breakthrough in

8 IGBT diode safe operating area I Application Note 5SYA 2057-01

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Application Note 5SYA2057-01 January 2015

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