Contributions of the gate current and channel current variation to the post-breakdown MOSFET performance

A new approach to the modelling of the post-breakdown (BD) performance of MOSFETs for circuit simulation is presented, which separately considers the additional post-BD gate current and the variation of the MOSFET channel current. The post-BD gate current is modelled using an improved equivalent circuit whereas the BSIM4 model is used to describe the MOSFET channel current. This approach has allowed to analyse the contributions of both currents on the post-BD ID–VD characteristics. The results show that the gate current increase and the variation of the channel current are determining factors of the MOSFET performance degradation after BD.