IEEE ELECTRON DEVICE LETTERS, VOL. 22, NO.

5, MAY 2001 239

A Dual-Voltage Self-Clamped IGBT for Automotive

Ignition Applications
Z. John Shen and Stephen P. Robb

Abstract—Self-clamped inductive switching (SCIS) energy ca-

pability is a critical parameter of device performance for insulated
gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) used in automotive ignition appli-
cations. In this letter, the authors propose a monolithic dual-voltage
self-clamped IGBT to improve its SCIS energy capability. During
an inductive turnoff process, the collector voltage of the proposed
device is clamped first at a high level for a short period of time and
then at a much lower level until the electromagnetic energy stored
in the inductive coil is fully discharged. The concept has been ver-
ified and analyzed with extensive numerical device simulation. A
monolithic prototype device based the concept has been designed
and fabricated with a conventional eight-mask IGBT process. The
preliminary experimental result is also reported.
Index Terms—Automotive electronics, IGBT, ignition, power
semiconductors, smart power.

I. INTRODUCTION

I N THE past few years, the insulated gate bipolar transistor

(IGBT) with integrated collector-gate clamp diodes (or
self-clamped IGBT) has been widely accepted as the device
Fig. 1. Device structure and circuit scheme of the dual-voltage self-clamped
IGBT.

of choice for automotive ignition systems [1], [2]. One of the
most important device parameters of the self-clamped IGBTs is
the so-called self-clamped inductive switching (SCIS) energy,
which is limited by the peak junction temperature of the IGBT
during the inductive switching process [3]. The SCIS energy
capability of an IGBT is nearly proportional to its die size, and
therefore imposes a fundamental limit on further reduction of
device size and cost.
Our previous work has shown that the SCIS energy capability
of an IGBT strongly depends on its clamp voltage [4]. A lower
clamp voltage results in significantly higher SCIS energy capa-
bility for an IGBT. Furthermore, a close examination of typical
automotive ignition applications indicates that a high collector
voltage (typically 350 to 450 V) is required only for a short pe-
riod of time (typically 30 s) for the initial ionization of the
spark plug [5]. A much lower collector voltage (typically 30 to
50 V) is needed to maintain the spark current during a much
longer period of time after the initial ionization. Additionally,
in the case of spark plug disconnection, high collector voltage
is neither required nor desired.
In this paper, the authors propose a monolithic dual-voltage
self-clamped IGBT to take advantages of these unique findings
Manuscript received November 30, 2000; revised February 8, 2001. The re-
view of this paper was arranged by Editor J. Sin.
Z. J. Shen is with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
University of Michigan, Dearborn, MI 48128-1491 USA (e-mail: john-
shen@umich.edu).
S. P. Robb is with ON Semiconductor Corporation, Phoenix, AZ 85008 USA.
Publisher Item Identifier S 0741-3106(01)03709-0.
0741–3106/01$10.00 © 2001 IEEE
and improve the SCIS energy capability. During an inductive
turnoff process, the collector voltage of the proposed device is
clamped first at a high level for a short period of time and then
at a much lower level until the electromagnetic energy stored
in the inductive coil is fully discharged. Both simulation and
experimental results are discussed.
II. DESIGN OF DEVICE AND CIRCUIT
Fig. 1 illustrates the device structure and circuit scheme of
the proposed dual-voltage self-clamped IGBT. This new smart
discrete device consists of a main IGBT, an auxiliary IGBT, a
high-voltage clamp diode string (HVD), a low-voltage clamp
diode string (LVD), a rectifier diode (D1), and several resistors
(R1 through R5, and Rg), which are all integrated monolithi-
cally in a single silicon chip. The auxiliary IGBT adopts a sim-
ilar cell design as the main IGBT, but contains a much smaller
number of cells. Note that both the gate and emitter electrodes of
the auxiliary IGBT are separated from those of the main IGBT.
All diodes and resistors are fabricated in the same polysilicon
thin film as the gate electrodes of the IGBTs. The breakdown
voltages of the HVD and LVD back-to-back polysilicon diode
strings are around 400 and 60 V, respectively. The device oper-
ation is described as the following.
When the gate electrode of the main IGBT is at ground poten-
tial, both the main and auxiliary IGBTs are in a forward blocking
mode. The steady-state collector-emitter breakdown voltage is
completely determined by the low-voltage clamp diode string
(LVD). Since the automotive bus voltage is much lower than
240
Fig. 2. Simulated SCIS waveforms of collector current and voltage of the
dual-voltage self-clamped IGBT. The calculated power dissipation is also
plotted as a function of time.
the breakdown voltage of the LVD string, the LVD feedback
loop is essentially open-circuited except during flyback. There-
fore the auxiliary IGBT is not sensitive to the dv/dt transients.
When a positive voltage pulse is applied to the gate of the main
IGBT through the gate resistor Rg (typically 1 K ), the main
IGBT turns on and allows the current through the inductive load
to increase to a preset value. The collector voltage of the main
IGBT remains low (approximately 2 V) in this forward conduc-
tion mode. In the meanwhile, the auxiliary IGBT remains off
because its own gate is still at ground potential and the diode
D1 blocks the positive voltage from the gate of the main IGBT.
At this point, the voltage at the gate electrode of the main IGBT
returns to ground potential. The electromagnetic energy stored
in the inductor forces the collector voltage of the main IGBT to
rise rapidly exceeding the avalanche voltage of the LVD loop.
The collector voltage continues to rise and is eventually clamped
by the HVD loop. As a result, the gate voltage of the auxiliary
IGBT increases after the LVD loop starts conducting current.
However, there is a delay time for charging the gate capacitor
through the resistor R3.
The circuit elements are chosen in such a way that the aux-
iliary IGBT does not turn on until a short period of time after
the collector voltage is clamped at by the HVD loop.
The corresponding delay time typically ranges between 10 and
40 s, during which the high collector voltage initiates the spark
at the spark plugs through the coil transformer. Note that the op-
eration of the dual-voltage self-clamped IGBT is identical to that
of a single-voltage self-clamped IGBT during this initial period
of time, and the main IGBT is in a forward conduction mode.
However, once the auxiliary IGBT fully turns on, its emitter
voltage increases to exceed the voltage at the gate of the main
IGBT. As a result, the auxiliary IGBT will supply current to the
gate of the main IGBT and serve as an additional feedback path.
The collector voltage will subsequently decrease from
to a much lower value, which is mainly determined by , of the required initial high voltage spark, but short enough to
R1, R2, and the threshold voltage of the IGBTs. In case of spark
plug disconnection or “open secondary,” high collector voltage
is neither required nor desired. Due to the reduced collector
IEEE ELECTRON DEVICE LETTERS, VOL. 22, NO. 5, MAY 2001
Fig. 3. Simulated SCIS waveforms of collector voltage of the dual-voltage
self-clamped IGBT for various values of R .
voltage after the initial delay, the electromagnetic energy in the
inductive load can be absorbed by the dual-voltage self-clamped
IGBT at a much lower power density but over a much longer
period of time than a similar single-voltage self-clamped IGBT.
Consequently, a dual-voltage self-clamped IGBT will demon-
strate a much lower peak junction temperature during an induc-
tive switching than its single-voltage counterpart for the same
amount of energy absorbed. Therefore, the SCIS energy capa-
bility per unit silicon area for the IGBT can be significantly im-
proved.
III. NUMERICAL SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENT
A two-dimensional (2-D) electrothermal mixed-mode device
and circuit simulator MEDICI [6] is used to study device op-
eration and to optimize device performance of the dual-voltage
self-clamped IGBT. The breakdown voltages for the high- and
low-voltage diode strings are chosen to be 350 and 60 V, respec-
tively. Fig. 2 shows the simulated collector current and voltage
waveforms for the dual-voltage self-clamped IGBT. The calcu-
lated power is also plotted as a function of time. A 5-V positive
voltage pulse with a pulse width of 1ms is applied to the gate
of the IGBT to ramp the collector currents to approximately
12.5 amps. At that point, the gate bias returns to ground level
and forces the IGBT into a so-called flyback mode with its col-
lector voltage rising rapidly. The collector voltage of the IGBT
is first clamped at 350 V for approximately 30 s and then at
approximately 80 V for another 670 s before returning to the
bus voltage of 50 V. During the flyback mode, the collector cur-
rent first decreases linearly from 12.5 to 9.5 amps at a fast rate,
and then continues to fall to zero at a slow rate. This is due to the
transition of the clamp voltage from 350 to 80 V. The shape of
the power dissipation waveform also reflects the impact of the
changing clamp voltage. The duration of the initial high voltage
flyback is a critical parameter for proper operation of the device
and circuit. It has to be long enough to guarantee the generation
avoid generating excessive heat and degrading the IGBTs SCIS
energy capability. Fig. 3 shows the simulated waveforms of the
collector voltage for various values of R3 (normalized). The
SHEN AND ROBB: DUAL-VOLTAGE SELF-CLAMPED IGBT
Fig. 4. Measured inductive switching waveforms of gate voltage, collector
current, and collector voltage of the dual-voltage self-clamped IGBT.
simulated peak junction temperatures are 519 K, 527 K, and
530 K for the three pulse widths, respectively. For comparison,
a single-voltage self-clamped IGBT under the same switching
conditions reaches a peak junction temperature of 558 K. Note
that a package thermal resistance of 60 C/W and a case tem-
perature of 400 K are assumed in the simulation.
The dual-voltage self-clamped IGBT was monolithically fab-
ricated with a conventional DMOS/IGBT process using eight
mask layers. No process modification was required. The die
size is 15 mm . The active area is approximately 9 mm . The
auxiliary IGBT uses approximately 1% of the total active area.
It should be pointed out that the auxiliary IGBT conduct cur-
rents at a much lower density than the main IGBT during the
switching process, therefore does not become a weak link of the
device. The steady-state breakdown voltage of the IGBT is mea-
241
sured at 61.5 V at a current level of 1mA. Fig. 4 shows the mea-
sured waveforms of the fabricated dual-voltage self-clamped
IGBT. It is observed that the measurement data agrees with
the simulation results reasonably well. Preliminary wafer form
switching measurement also indicates that the dual-voltage self-
clamped IGBT demonstrates a SCIS energy of 513 mJ, com-
pared to 380 mJ of a single-voltage counterpart. This represents
an approximate 35% improvement in SCIS energy.
IV. SUMMARY
In summary, the authors propose a monolithic dual-voltage
self-clamped IGBT to improve its SCIS energy capability for
automotive ignition applications. The concept has been verified
and analyzed with extensive numerical device simulation.
A monolithic prototype device based the concept has been
designed and fabricated with a conventional eight-mask IGBT
process. Future work includes adjusting the initial flyback
delay time, characterizing the improved SCIS energy capability
of the IGBT, and studying the device performance in realistic
ignition circuit operations.
REFERENCES
[1] J. Phipps, S. Robb, J. Sutor, and L. Terry, “Semiconductor device having
high energy sustaining capability and a temperature compensation sus-
taining voltage,” U.S. Patent 5 536 958.
[2] L. Mamileti, A. Taomoto, J. Shen, and S. Robb, “IGBTs designed for
automotive ignition systems,” in Proc. IEEE 27th Annu. Power Electron.
Spec. Conf. (PESC), 1996.
[3] J. Yedinak, J. Merges, J. Wojslawowicz, A. Bhalla, D. Burke, and G.
Dolny, “Operation of an IGBT in a self-clamped inductive switching
circuit (SCIS) for automotive ignition,” in Proc. 10th Int. Symp. Power
Semiconductor Devices ICs (ISPSD), Kyoto, Japan, 1998, pp. 399–402.
[4] Z. J. Shen, D. Briggs, and S. P. Robb, “Voltage dependence of self-
clamped inductive switching energy capability of IGBTs,” IEEE Elec-
tron Device Lett., vol. 21, pp. 119–122, Mar. 2000.
[5] H. Bauer, Ed., Automotive Electric/Electronic Systems, 2nd
ed. Stuttgart, Germany: Robert Bosch GmbH, 1995, pp. 181–182.
[6] “MEDICI User Manual,” Avanti Corporation, 1999.