Influence of series resistance and cooling conditions on I-V characteristics of SiC merged PiN Schottky diodes

The paper presents the exemplary electro-thermal models of merged PiN Schottky diode - a diode with the parallel PiN junction, protecting the device against the uncontrolled voltage rise, causing so-called thermal runaway. In the presented models, the conductivity modulation effect in the PiN junction is taken into account. The influence of the PiN junction on the non-isothermal I-V characteristics of MPS diodes, for various cooling conditions, is discussed. It is shown, that the thermal runaway is possible, in spite of presence of protecting PiN junction.