Avalanche Breakdown Mechanisms and Application to Switching Devices

摘要

The purpose of this report is threefold. (1) To present a discussion of avalanche breakdown which is the primary high voltage limiting mechanism in semiconductor junction devices. (2) To discuss surface field effects on avalanche breakdown and junction termination techniques for reducing these surface effects. (3) To present a discussion of avalanche second breakdown and it application to high voltage, high speed, and switching devices. One of the goals of these discussions is to present the current state-of-the-art in the area of junction breakdown and high voltage junction devices. Since only a cursory description of the subjects can be given in this short report, a large list of references is compiled to help the reader pursue these areas further. 19 refs., 3 figs. (ERA citation 11:003514)