Two-Dimensional Device Simulation of Junction Termination Structure for Determination of Breakdown Behavior

Abstract

Breakdown voltage is one of the major parameters to be considered in the design of power semiconductor devices. Many techniques have been developed to improve the breakdown behavior of power semiconductor devices. These include field plates and floating field rings. It is important to be able to predict the breakdown behavior of a device before the device is actually fabricated. Analytical techniques can only be used to predict the breakdown behavior of very simple devices. The breakdown behavior of more advanced devices that make use of complex termiantion structures cannot be predicted analytically. The breakdown behavior of such devices can, however, be quite accurately predicted by two-dimensional simulation.

In this work, we have investigated numerical techniques to determine the breakdown behavior of complex semiconductor devices using two-dimensional simulation. In particular, we have augmented the device simulator SEPSIP with a capability for handling single and multiple floating field rings, and for handling devices with slanted edges. We have furthermore improved the grid width selection algorithm in SEPSIP. A capability for plotting equi-field contours was added to the code. Finally, all system dependencies were removed from the SEPSIP code, and a new version of SEPSIP (Version 2.0) was generated which can be executed on any PC/XT, PC/AT, or PC/386 compatible computer. This eliminates the need for transferring files back and forth between the PC, which had formerly been used as an I/O processor, and the VAX, which was used for numerically intensive computations. It also makes the code more accessible to scientists and engineers who are working in this important research area.

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Last modified: June 5, 2005 -- © François Cellier