
HGTG20N60A4
www.onsemi.com
8
Handling Precautions for IGBTs
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors are susceptible to
gate−insulation damage by the electrostatic discharge of
energy through the devices. When handling these devices,
care should be exercised to assure that the static charge built
in the handler’s body capacitance is not discharged through
the device. With proper handling and application
procedures, however, IGBTs are currently being extensively
used in production by numerous equipment manufacturers
in military, industrial and consumer applications,
with virtually no damage problems due to electrostatic
discharge. IGBTs can be handled safely if the following
basic precautions are taken:
1. Prior to assembly into a circuit, all leads should be
kept shorted together either by the use of metal
shorting springs or by the insertion into conductive
material such as “ECCOSORBDt LD26”
or equivalent.
2. When devices are removed by hand from their
carriers, the hand being used should be grounded
by any suitable means − for example,
with a metallic wristband.
3. Tips of soldering irons should be grounded.
4. Devices should never be inserted into or removed
from circuits with power on.
5. Gate Voltage Rating − Never exceed
the gate−voltage rating of VGEM. Exceeding
the rated VGE can result in permanent damage
to the oxide layer in the gate region.
6. Gate Termination − The gates of these devices
are essentially capacitors. Circuits that leave
the gate open−circuited or floating should be
avoided. These conditions can result in turn−on
of the device due to voltage buildup on the input
capacitor due to leakage currents or pickup.
7. Gate Protection − These devices do not have
an internal monolithic Zener diode from gate
to emitter. If gate protection is required an external
Zener is recommended.
Operating Frequency Information
Operating frequency information for a typical device
(Figure 3) is presented as a guide for estimating device
performance for a specific application. Other typical
frequency vs collector current (ICE) plots are possible using
the information shown for a typical unit in Figures 5, 6, 7, 8,
9 and 11. The operating frequency plot (Figure 3) of
a typical device shows fMAX1 or fMAX2; whichever is
smaller at each point. The information is based on
measurements of a typical device and is bounded by the
maximum rated junction temperature.
fMAX1 is defined by fMAX1 = 0.05/(td(OFF)I+ td(ON)I).
Deadtime (the denominator) has been arbitrarily held to
10% of the on−state time for a 50% duty factor. Other
definitions are possible. td(OFF)I and td(ON)I are defined in
Figure 21. Device turn−off delay can establish an additional
frequency limiting condition for an application other than
TJM.
fMAX2 is defined by fMAX2 = (PD − PC)/(EOFF + EON2).
The allowable dissipation (PD) is defined by
PD=(T
JM −TC)/RJC. The sum of device switching
and conduction losses must not exceed PD. A 50% duty
factor was used (Figure 3) and the conduction losses (PC)
are approximated by PC = (VCE x ICE)/2.
EON2 and EOFF are defined in the switching waveforms
shown in Figure 21. EON2 is the integral of the instantaneous
power loss (ICE x VCE) during turn−on and EOFF is
the integral of the instantaneous power loss (ICE x VCE)
during turn−off. All tail losses are included in the calculation
for EOFF; i.e., the collector current equals zero (ICE = 0).
All brand names and product names appearing in this document are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.