Reverse Recovery of a PIN Diode

Application ID: 57971


This tutorial simulates the turn-off transient (reverse recovery) of a simple PIN diode with an inductive load, loosely based on the book "Fundamentals of Power Semiconductor Devices" by B. J. Baliga (p. 256, 2008 edition). Unlike the book, which assumes an initial constant current ramp rate followed by an abrupt bottoming out of the device voltage at the supplied reverse voltage, in this model we use the circuit capability of COMSOL Multiphysics to simulate the inductive load with a flyback diode in a more realistic fashion. The resulting time evolutions of the current, voltages, and carrier concentrations compare well to those shown in the book (Fig. 5.42 ~ 5.45).

This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products: