Two-dimensional simulation of thermal runaway in a nonplanar GTO-thyristor

The problem of electrothermal stability due to different cooling conditions has been investigated by computing the thermal transients in a nonplanar GTO-thyristor. In the first simulation, a steady state occurs with a heat sink removing all the dissipated power. In the second simulation severe thermal runaway is induced due to bad cooling conditions, allowing the analysis of destructive electrothermal interaction. The simulations are based on an advanced model for self-heating effects in silicon devices derived from first principles of irreversible thermodynamics. Self-consistently incorporating a phenomenological model of band gap narrowing in order to take account of heavy doping effects. The system of governing equations is valid in both the steady state and the transient regimes. Four characteristic effects contributing to the heat generation can be identified: Joule heating, recombination heating, Thomson heating, and carrier source heating. Thermal runaway is significantly accelerated in the simulations based on the thermodynamic model of thermoelectric transport compared to a conventional heuristic theory of thermoelectricity. The importance of the entropy balance equation is emphasized in order to derive the mathematical form of the heat flux and the current relations for electrons and holes. Limitations of underlying assumptions are discussed. It is shown that the heat generation implies the Thomson relations.