The Bi-mode Insulated Gate Transistor (BIGT) a potential technology for higher power applications

In this paper, an advanced Reverse Conducting (RC) IGBT concept is presented. The new technology is referred to as the Bi-mode Insulated Gate Transistor (BIGT) implying that the device can operate at the same current densities in transistor (IGBT) mode and freewheeling diode mode by utilizing the same available silicon volume in both operational modes. The BIGT design concept differs from that of the standard RC-IGBT while targeting to fully replace the state-of-the-art two-chip IGBT/diode approach with a single chip. The BIGT is also capable of improving the over-all performance especially under hard switching conditions.