HGT1S20N60A4S

9A

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