©2002 Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation FGH20N6S2D / FGP20N6S2D / FGB20N6S2D Rev. A1
FGH20N6S2D / FGP20N6S2D / FGB20N6S2D
Handling Precautions for IGBTs
Insulate d G at e Bi polar Transistor s ar e suscepti ble to
gate-insulation damage by the electrostatic discharge
of energy through th e devices. Whe n handling these
devices, care sho ul d be exer ci sed to ass ur e t hat th e
static ch ar ge built in t he handler’s body capac i ta nce
is not disc har ged through the device. With prop er
handling and application procedures, howev er,
IGBTs are cu r rently be i ng e xtensively used in
production by numerous equipment manufacturers in
military, industrial and consumer applications, with
virtua l ly no damage pro blems due to elect r ost atic
discharge. IG BTs can be handled safely if the
following basic prec aut i ons 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 conduc-
tive material such as “ECCOSORBD™ LD26” or
equivalent.
2. Wh en de v ices are r emo v ed b y ha nd fr om th eir
carriers, the hand being used should be grounded
by any suitable means - for exampl e, with a
metallic wristband.
3. Tips of soldering irons should be grounded.
4. De vice s should ne ver b e inserted into or remov ed
from circu its w it h power on.
5. Gate Voltage Rating - Ne ver 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 c apacitors. Cir cuit s t hat l eave the
gate open-circuited or floating should be av oided.
These conditions can result in turn-on of the
device due to voltage buildup on the i nput
capacitor due to le akage cur re nt s or pickup.
7. Gate Protection - These devices do not have an
inter nal monolithic Zener di ode from ga te to
emitter. If gate protection is req ui re d an external
Zener is re co mmended.
Operating Frequency Informat ion
Operating fr equ ency information for a typical device
(Figure 3) is presented as a guide for estimating
device performanc e for a specifi c ap pl i cati on. Othe r
typica l fre quenc y vs collect or current (I CE) plot s 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 informat i on i s ba sed on mea surement s of a
typical d evice and is bou nded by the maximum rate d
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 o n-state ti me for a 50% d u ty factor.
Other def ini t io ns ar e possible. td(OFF)I and td(ON)I are
defined in Figure 27. Device turn- of f de lay can
establish an additional frequency limiting condition for
an application other than TJM. td(OFF)I is important
when controlling output ripple under a lightly loaded
condition.
fMAX2 is defi ned by f MAX2 = (PD - PC)/(EOFF + EON2).
The allo wab le di ssipation (PD) is d efin e d b y
PD=(T
JM -T
C)/RθJC. The sum of device switching
and conduction losses must not exceed PD. A 5 0%
duty fa ctor 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 switchin g
wa v ef orms sho wn in Fi gure 27. EON2 is the integral of
the instantaneous power loss (ICE x VCE) during turn-
on and EOFF i s t he i ntegral of the in st ant aneous
power loss (ICE xV
CE) during turn-off. All tail losses
are includ ed in the calcul ation for EOFF; i.e., th e
collecto r c urrent equa ls zero (ICE = 0)
ECCOSORBD is a Trademark of Emerson and Cumming, Inc.