©2001 Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation

HGTG20N60C3, HGTP20N60C3, HGT1S20N60C3S Rev. B

Handling Precautions for IGBTs

Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors are susceptible to

gate-insulation damage by the electrostatic discharge of

energy through the devices. When handling these devices,

care should be exercised to assure that the static charge

built in the handler’s body capacitance is not discharged

through the device. With proper handling and application

procedures, however, IGBTs are currently being extensively

used in production by numerous equipment manufacturers in

military, industrial and consumer applications, with virtually

no damage problems due to electrostatic discharge. IGBTs

can be handled safely if the following basic precautions are

taken:

1. Prior to assembly into a circuit, all leads should be kept

shorted together either by the use of metal shorting

springs or by the insertion into conductive material such

as “ECCOSORBD™ LD26” or equivalent.

2. When devices are removed by hand from their carriers,

the hand being used should be grounded by any suitable

means - for example, with a metallic wristband.

3. Tips of soldering irons should be grounded.

4. Devices should never be inserted into or removed from

circuits with power on.

5. Gate Voltage Rating - Never exceed the gate-voltage

permanent damage to the oxide layer in the gate region.

6. Gate Termination - The gates of these devices are

essentially capacitors. Circuits that leave the gate open-

circuited or floating should be avoided. These conditions

can result in turn-on of the device due to voltage buildup

on the input capacitor due to leakage currents or pickup.

7. Gate Protection - These devices do not have an internal

monolithic Zener diode from gate to emitter. If gate

protection is required an external Zener is recommended.

Operating Frequency Information

Operating frequency information for a typical device

(Figure 3) is presented as a guide for estimating device

performance for a specific application. Other typical

the information shown for a typical unit in Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

and 11. The operating frequency plot (Figure 3) of a typical

point. The information is based on measurements of a

typical device and is bounded by the maximum rated

junction temperature.

Deadtime (the denominator) has been arbitrarily held to 10%

of the on-state time for a 50% duty factor. Other definitions

Device turn-off delay can establish an additional frequency

is important when controlling output ripple under a lightly

loaded condition.

The sum of device switching and conduction losses must

HGTG20N60C3, HGTP20N60C3, HGT1S20N60C3S