Analysis of high pulse power generation using novel excitation of IGBT

In this paper, we analyze numerically and compare the performance of the optical IGBT and the conventional IGBT. With optical excitation of the device, very high current switching can be achieved. Same dimensions and geometry are used in both devices: and scaling of dimensions and circuit parameter values is employed to simulate the high power performance of the optical IGBT. Our results show that, with sufficient optical power illuminating the channel of the optical IGBT, the switch can be closed quickly. In addition, with the gate controlled by light and not by voltage, the conduction channel can be much wider and hence it can carry more carriers for high current operation. The wider channel has the additional advantage of a smaller current density and this can relieve the thermal problem