Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.

Ryohei Takayanagi

Hiroki Wakimoto

Hayato Nakano

An embodiment of a silicon carbide semiconductor device includes one or more inner cells each having a MOSFET and one or more outer peripheral cells that does not have a MOSFET structure, and the area (surface area) of the pcontact region of each of the outermost peripheral cells is less than the surface area of an pcontact region of each of the inner cells, for example, so that a unit total resistance of pcontact regions of the outermost peripheral cells, as measured in a depth direction of the semiconductor substrate with respect to a unit area in a surface of the semiconductor substrate, is greater than a unit total resistance of the pcontact regions of the inner cells, as measured in the depth direction of the semiconductor substrate with respect to the unit area in the surface of the semiconductor substrate.

Silicon carbide semiconductor device

The semiconductor device includes a switching arm unit in which first and second wide bandgap semiconductor elements, each having a body diode, are connected in series between a positive line and a negative line; a current detecting unit that detects a current in at least a wide bandgap semiconductor element in which a flyback current flows; and a semiconductor element driving unit that drives the first and second wide bandgap semiconductor elements. When driving one of the wide bandgap semiconductor elements, the semiconductor element driving unit determines, by referring to a fault inhibiting characteristic curve, whether a flyback current detection value of the other wide bandgap semiconductor elements falls within a fault growth region or a fault inhibiting region, and when a result of the determination indicates that the flyback current detection value is within the fault growth region, inhibits a current flowing in the one wide bandgap semiconductor element.

Growing community of inventors

Nagano, Japan

Ryohei Takayanagi