Impact of Gamma-Ray Irradiation on the Dynamic Switching Performance of 650-V Field Stop IGBTs: An Experimental and Simulation Study

The expanding aerospace industry is driving a significant increase in demand for high-power, high-voltage electronic systems, requiring robust power semiconductor devices like insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs). This article investigates the effects of gamma-ray irradiation on the dynamic switching performance of experimental 650-V trench gate field stop IGBTs. Experimental measurements revealed a paradoxical degradation trend where turn-on characteristics improve while turn-off characteristics severely degrade as irradiation dose increases. To define the underlying physical mechanisms, this study conducted a five-contact TCAD mixed-mode simulation. The results, validated against experimental data, indicate that the total ionizing dose (TID)-induced negative shift in the threshold voltage and the consequent reduction in the gate plateau voltage are the primary drivers of this asymmetric switching behavior. Furthermore, the analysis is extended to the system-level to quantify the multiphysics consequences of this degradation. The increased electrical loss is shown to reduce the predicted thermomechanical lifetime and distort the device’s electromagnetic interference (EMI) profile, providing insights for designing reliable, radiation-hardened power systems.