Physics of power semiconductors

This article is designed to introduce power electronics engineers and, more generally, any electrical engineering specialist to silicon electronics, or to deepen their knowledge of the subject, without necessarily having any prior training in solid-state physics. The basic concepts, derived from quantum mechanics and statistical thermodynamics, are accepted as postulates, and the author has chosen to use the language of an electrician to explain the fundamental notions on which the study of the electrical behavior of semiconductor components is based. After listing the electronic properties that are mainly, but not exclusively, relevant to the operation of power components, we review :

• elementary structures: PN, Schottky, PNP or NPN, MOS, whose components are assembled ;

• the fundamental effects they bring into play: unidirectional conduction of PN junctions and metal/semiconductor contacts, bipolar transistor effect, MOS field effect, junction field effect.