Design considerations for a new generation mid-voltage power MOSFET technology

• Main Authors: Qun Zhao, Stojcic, G.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Design optimization; Load management; MOSFET circuits; Power generation; Power MOSFET; Power supplies; Rectifiers; Switches; Switching circuits; Switching frequency
• ISSN: 1048-2334; 2470-6647
• DOI: 10.1109/APEC.2005.1452947

N-Channel power MOSFETs in 40 V to 200 V breakdown voltage range (mid-voltage) are used in a wide range of switching power supply applications. Furthermore, they can be used for very different functions within the same circuits, from primary side switch, to secondary synchronous rectifier, to DC load management. Modes of operations include both hard switching and soft switching, while the switching frequency varies from DC all the way up to a Mega Hertz. It is always possible to optimize power MOSFET for each unique socket and application. However, this approach is very costly and time consuming, and can result in a large number of custom parts with very limited usability. The optimization effort for single application can significantly slow the rate at which new, fundamentally better technologies are developed and applied. In this paper, the development of a new generation mid-voltage MOSFET technology covering multiple emerging applications is described. The basic methodology is based on advanced loss modeling of typical applications to find the optimized designs. Optimized designs are compared in terms of power loss and cost, and then consolidated into a single design with optimized cell density. The best tradeoff of power loss and cost was achieved for individual application by varying the active areas of the die. The optimized designs are experimentally verified