©2002 Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation HGTG12N60B3, HGTP12N60B3, HGT1S12N60B3S Rev. C
HGTG12N60B3, HGTP12N60B3, HGT1S12N60B3S
Handling Precautions for IGBTs
Insulated Gate Bipolar Tr ansistors are susceptible to
gate-insul ation dama ge by the el ectrostatic di scharge of
energy through the devices. When handling these devices,
care should be exercised to assure that the static charge
built i n the handler’s body capacitance is not discharged
through the device. With pro per handling and applica ti on
procedures, however, IGBTs are currently being extensively
used in pr oduction by numerous equipment manuf acturers in
mili tary, industrial and consumer applications , wi th vi rtual ly
no dam age problems due to electrostatic discharge. IGBTs
can be handled safely if the follo w ing basic pr ecautions are
taken:
1. Prior to assem bly into a circuit , all leads should be ke pt
shorted together either by the use of metal shorting
springs or by the insertion into conducti ve material such
as “ECCOSORBD™ LD26” or equivalent.
2. When de vices are rem ov ed b y hand from thei r carriers ,
the ha nd bei ng used sho ul d be groun ded b y any sui tabl e
mean s - for example, with a metall ic wri stband.
3. Tips of soldering irons should be grounded.
4. Devi ces should ne v er be i nsert ed into or remov ed from
circuits with power on.
5. Gate Voltage Ratin g - Never ex ceed the ga te-v ol tage
rating of VGEM. Exceeding the rated VGE can result in
permanent damage to the oxide layer in the gate regi on.
6. Ga te Ter m in a tion - The gates o f these devices ar e
essentiall y capacitors . Circuits that lea ve the gate
open-circui ted or floa ti ng should be avoided . These
conditions can result in turn-on of the device due to
volt age buildup on the input capacitor due to leakage
currents or pi cku p.
7. Gate Prot ection - These d evices do not hav e an int ernal
mono li thic Zener di ode from gate to emitter. If gate
prot ection is required an e xte rnal Zener is re commended.
Operating Frequency Information
Operating frequency information for a typical device
(Figure 3) is presented as a guide for estimati ng device
performance for a specific appl ication. Other typical
frequency vs collector current (ICE) plots are possible using
the i nf ormation sh own for a t ypical unit in Fig ures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
and 11. The operati ng frequency plot (Fig ure 3) of a typical
device show s fMAX1 or fMAX2; wh ic hever is sma lle r a t eac h
point. The information is based on measurements of a
typi cal device and is bounded b y the maximum r ated
junction te mpe rature.
fMAX1 is defi ned by fMAX1 = 0.05/(td(OFF)I+ td(ON)I).
Deadti me ( the denomi nator ) ha s been arb itr arily hel d t o 10%
of the on- state ti me for a 50% duty fac tor. Oth er definitions
are possible. td(OFF)I and td(ON)I are defined in Figure 18.
Devi ce turn-off delay can establish an additional frequency
li miting condi tion for an appli cation othe r than TJM. td(OFF)I
is importan t when controlling output ri pple under a lightly
loaded condition.
fMAX2 is defi ned by fMAX2 = (PD - PC)/(EOFF + EON2). The
allowab le di ssipation (PD) i s define d by PD = (TJM - TC)/RθJC.
The sum of de vi ce s witchi ng an d condu ction losses mu st no t
exceed PD. A 50% duty factor was used (Figure 3) and the
conduction losses (PC) are approximated by
PC=(V
CE xI
CE)/2.
EON2 and EOFF are defined in the swi tching waveforms
shown in Fig ure 18. EON2 is t he integral of th e
instantaneous power loss (ICE x VCE) during turn-on and
EOFF is the integral of the instantaneous power loss
(ICE xV
CE) during turn-off. All tail losses are inclu ded in the
calculati on for EOFF; i.e ., the collector curr ent equals zero
(ICE = 0).