Comparative study of non-standard power diodes

Various non-standard power diode structures have been proposed which are superior in performance in comparison to the standard power diode. However, each of these structures help optimize certain electrical parameters with corresponding trade-offs for others. In this work, the electrical parameters of three non-standard diode structures viz. SPEED diode, BUFFER diode and CLC (carrier lifetime control) diode are evaluated in comparison to those of the conventional P⁺NN⁺ standard diode. A design of experiment (DOE) combined with extensive MEDICI simulation is performed, followed by response surface methodology (RSM) to empirically relate the electrical parameters with the diode structural and doping parameters. A global optimization algorithm, known as simulated annealing (SA) is used to optimize each individual electrical parameter. Sensitivity analysis for the optimized electrical parameter is also performed to study the effects of inherent process variations on the device electrical parameters, indicating the manufacturability of the non-standard power diodes.