Analysis and characterization of the segmented anode LIGBT

A LIGBT (lateral insulated gate bipolar transistor) structure, called the segmented-anode LIGBT, is presented and analyzed. The anode structure responsible for the injection of minority carriers for conductivity modulation is implemented using segments of p⁺ and n⁺ diffusion along the device width. This minimizes the forward bias of the p⁺ injector during device turn-off, resulting in higher switching speed compared to the shorted-anode LIGBT. Since the n⁺ region required for electron extraction is implemented along the device width and consumes only a small amount of area, a reduction in device size is also achieved. The switching speed and reduced device size result in better tradeoff between on-resistance and turn-off time compared with other LIGBTs. Two-dimensional numerical simulations are carried out to demonstrate the operation and characteristics of the structure, and the experimental inductive and resistive switching characteristics of the structure are discussed