Experimental analysis of punch-through conditions in power P-I-N diodes

Commercial power diodes are optimized to feature punch-through behavior. However, a tradeoff between the width and the doping level of the diode epitaxial layer leads to various levels of optimization. For a given breakdown voltage, a shorter epitaxial layer width leads to better transient performances. Device datasheets do not cover this issue and a simple experimental setup is presented to assess the optimization conditions inside the diode epitaxial layer. Three commercial devices are tested and experimental results are confronted to device simulations. A good agreement is found. Index Terms--Avalanche, p-type, intrinsic, n-type (P-I-N) diode, punch-through (PT), reverse-recovery.