Chapters authored
Behavior of Space Charge in Polyimide and the Influence on Power Semiconductor Device Reliability
Polyimide is widely used in film form as a passivation material for power semiconductor devices such as Si, SiC, and GaN. The magnitude of the electric field at the edge termination area of these semiconductor devices is becoming higher due to the increase of operational voltage and/or demand for shrinking the edge termination area to increase device active area. Hence, it is concerned that the accumulation of space charge in the encapsulation and passivation material may affect the insulation performance of these devices, for example, the degradation of withstand voltage due to distortion of the internal electric field caused by space charge accumulation. To design space charge resistance of semiconductor devices, it is important to understand the space charge behavior in polyimide films with a thickness of several to several tens of micrometers. This chapter addresses practical implementation, specifications, and issues on space charge in polyimide insulation on power semiconductor devices focusing on the space charge measurements in thin polyimide films using the latest developed LIMM method and DC conductivity measurements.
Part of the book: Polyimide for Electronic and Electrical Engineering Applications