Analysis of the DC-arc behavior of a novel 3D-active fuse

In this work, the DC-arc behavior of an active fuse integrated into a CMOS process is described. The purpose of this fuse is to prevent serious hazards in power electronics in the case of a malfunction of a single power-transistor. The focus of this work is on the characterization of functionality and reliability of the “cutout-bridge”. Different cutout-bridge geometries and the DC-arc behavior during fuse release are analyzed. It is shown that a significant increase in release time occurs, when a DC-arc across the cutout-bridge is ignited at voltages above 20 V. By integrating a snubber device into the circuit, the DC-arc behavior will be clearly reduced and the release time of the fuse will be decreased significantly.