Terms that matter.
A compact reference for power-semiconductor language used across datasheets, papers and application notes.
Avalanche
Impact-ionization breakdown mechanism that can occur when the electric field becomes sufficiently high.
Charge balance
Approximate matching of integrated positive and negative charge in the compensated drift structure.
Drift region
High-voltage region of a power semiconductor that supports blocking voltage and contributes to conduction resistance.
Eoss
Energy associated with charging/discharging output capacitance, useful for evaluating switching loss.
Figure of merit
A derived metric combining two or more device parameters for screening; the exact FOM must match the topology.
Qgd
Gate-drain charge associated with the Miller region during voltage transition.
Qg
Total gate charge required to switch a MOSFET under specified test conditions.
Qrr
Reverse-recovery charge associated with the body diode or diode structure.
RDS(on)
Drain-source resistance in the on-state under specified gate voltage and temperature.
Superjunction
A charge-balanced power-device architecture using alternating semiconductor regions to reshape the electric field and reduce the voltage/resistance trade-off.
Wide-bandgap
Semiconductor materials such as SiC and GaN with larger bandgaps than silicon, enabling high-field and high-temperature device operation.
VDS
Drain-to-source voltage; maximum rated VDS is a key device-selection parameter.
VBR
Breakdown voltage, usually the voltage at which the device reaches a defined avalanche current under test conditions.