Alessandro Magnani

Bio: Alessandro Magnani is an academic researcher from Information Technology University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Model order reduction & Parametric statistics. The author has an hindex of 14, co-authored 45 publications receiving 575 citations. Previous affiliations of Alessandro Magnani include University of Naples Federico II.

FAst Novel Thermal Analysis Simulation Tool for Integrated Circuits (FANTASTIC)

Abstract: This work describes a FAst Novel Thermal Analysis Simulation Tool for Integrated Circuits (FANTASTIC), which is fully automated and relies on an enhanced version of the Multi-Point Moment Matching algorithm. The tool provides a novel equivalent network suitable for use in SPICE-like circuit simulators to perform efficient thermal and electrothermal analyses. FANTASTIC requires much less CPU time and memory storage compared to commercial simulators. The thermal behavior of a state-of-the-art four-finger GaAs HBT is investigated as a case-study.

Circuit-Based Electrothermal Simulation of Power Devices by an Ultrafast Nonlinear MOR Approach

Abstract: This paper presents an efficient circuit-based approach for the nonlinear dynamic electrothermal simulation of power devices and systems subject to radical self-heating. The strategy relies on the synthesis of a nonlinear compact thermal network extracted from a finite-element model by a novel model-order reduction method requiring a computational time orders of magnitude lower than conventional techniques. Unlike commonly employed approaches, the proposed network allows reconstructing the whole time evolution of the temperature field in all the points of the domain with high accuracy. Electrothermal simulations are enabled in a commercial SPICE-like simulator by coupling such a network with subcircuits that describe the electrical device behavior by accounting for the temperature dependence of the key physical parameters. As a case study, the dynamic electrothermal analysis of a packaged silicon carbide power MOSFET undergoing a short-circuit test is performed, showcasing the performance of the approach and highlighting the need of including the thermal nonlinearities to achieve reliable results.

SPICE modeling and dynamic electrothermal simulation of SiC power MOSFETs

Abstract: This paper presents a computationally efficient 3-D simulation approach for the dynamic electrothermal analysis of SiC power MOSFETs. The strategy relies on a circuit representation of the whole device, where the electrothermal feedback is enabled through an equivalent electrical network, and the elementary device cell is described by a novel behavioral model accounting for the non-intuitive temperature dependences of key physical parameters.

Matrix reduction tool for creating boundary condition independent dynamic compact thermal models

Abstract: A novel matrix reduction method for the efficient and automatic construction of boundary condition independent dynamic compact thermal models having a chosen accuracy, is proposed. The method is implemented in a code which allows constructing boundary condition independent dynamic compact thermal models of any multi-die package modeled within a 3-D commercial mesher. The proposed approach has many advantages with respect to previous approaches in terms of robustness, efficiency, and applicability. The method is validated through the analysis of a dual-flat no-leads 12-leads package.

Compact Dynamic Modeling for Fast Simulation of Nonlinear Heat Conduction in Ultra-Thin Chip Stacking Technology

Abstract: A novel nonlinear model order reduction method is proposed for constructing one-port dynamic compact models of nonlinear heat diffusion problems for ultra-thin chip stacking technology. The method leads to models of small state-space dimensions, which allow accurately reconstructing the whole time evolution of the temperature field due to an arbitrary power waveform of practical interest. The approach is also efficient, since the computational time/memory requirements for constructing each dynamic compact model is about one order of magnitude lower than that corresponding to a single 3-D finite element method transient simulation of a nonlinear problem.

A Comprehensive Study of Short-Circuit Ruggedness of Silicon Carbide Power MOSFETs

Abstract: The behavior of silicon carbide (SiC) power MOSFETs under stressful short-circuit (SC) conditions is investigated in this paper. Two different SC failure phenomena for SiC power MOSFETs are thoroughly reported. Experimental evidence and TCAD electrothermal simulations are exploited to describe and discriminate the failure sources. Physical causes are finally investigated and explained by means of properly calibrated numerical investigations and are reported along with their effects on devices’ SC capability.

Thermal Management on IGBT Power Electronic Devices and Modules

Abstract: As an increasing attention towards sustainable development of energy and environment, the power electronics (PEs) are gaining more and more attraction on various energy systems. The insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), as one of the PEs with numerous advantages and potentials for development of higher voltage and current ratings, has been used in a board range of applications. However, the continuing miniaturization and rapid increasing power ratings of IGBTs have remarkable high heat flux, which requires complex thermal management. In this paper, studies of the thermal management on IGBTs are generally reviewed including analyzing, comparing, and classifying the results originating from these researches. The thermal models to accurately calculate the dynamic heat dissipation are divided into analytical models, numerical models, and thermal network models, respectively. The thermal resistances of current IGBT modules are also studied. According to the current products on a number of IGBTs, we observe that the junction-to-case thermal resistance generally decreases inversely in terms of the total thermal power. In addition, the cooling solutions of IGBTs are reviewed and the performance of the various solutions are studied and compared. At last, we have proposed a quick and efficient evaluation judgment for the thermal management of the IGBTs depended on the requirements on the junction-to-case thermal resistance and equivalent heat transfer coefficient of the test samples.

Modeling of Wide-Bandgap Power Semiconductor Devices—Part II

Abstract: Wide bandgap power devices have emerged as an often superior alternative power switch technology for many power electronic applications. These devices theoretically have excellent material properties enabling power device operation at higher switching frequencies and higher temperatures compared with conventional silicon devices. However, material defects can dominate device behavior, particularly over time, and this should be strongly considered when trying to model actual characteristics of currently available devices. Compact models of wide bandgap power devices are necessary to analyze and evaluate their impact on circuit and system performance. Available compact models, i.e., models compatible with circuit-level simulators, are reviewed. In particular, this paper presents a review of compact models for silicon carbide power diodes and MOSFETs.

Si/SiGe:C and InP/GaAsSb Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors for THz Applications

Abstract: This paper presents Si/SiGe:C and InP/GaAsSb HBTs which feature specific assets to address submillimeter-wave and THz applications. Process and modeling status and challenges are reviewed. The specific topics of thermal and substrate effects, reliability, and HF measurements are also discussed.