Analytic and experimental techniques for evaluating transient thermal characteristics of Trapatt diodes

Analytical and experimental investigations of the transient thermal behavior of Trapatt diodes are presented. Although oriented to Trapatt diodes, the techniques described are equally applicable to numerous other solid state devices operated in a pulsed mode. Junction temperature calculations are made as a function of diode geometry, heat sink materials, dissipated power level, and pulsewidths up to 50 µs. Experimental measurements using infrared and voltage breakdown techniques are described. Guidelines for transient junction temperature minimization are given.