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Plot Basic I-V Characteristics of Semiconductor Blocks

You can plot the basic I-V characteristics of semiconductor blocks without building a complete model. Use the plots to explore the impact of your parameter choices on device characteristics. If you parameterize the block from a datasheet, you can compare your plots to the datasheet to check that you parameterized the block correctly. If you have a complete working model but do not know which manufactured part to use, you can compare your plots to datasheets to help you decide.

To plot the basic characteristics, right-click a semiconductor block in your model that supports this option and select Electrical > Basic characteristics from the context menu. The software computes a set of bias conditions using the block parameter values and then opens a figure window containing a plot of the DC I-V characteristics for the block. For example, the Basic characteristics option generates this figure for the N-Channel MOSFET block with default parameter values.

If you change the block parameter values and plot the characteristics again, the plot opens in a new window. You can compare the plots side-by-side to see how the parameter values affect the I-V characteristics. For example, if you set the Gate-source voltage, Vgs, for R_DS(on) parameter of the N-Channel MOSFET block to 20 V, and select the Basic characteristics option again, you generate this plot.

You can use the Basic characteristics option with these semiconductor blocks.

Block Modeling option Parameter ValuesAdditional Capabilities of the Basic characteristics Option
DiodeNo thermal portNone
IGBT (Ideal, Switching)No thermal port or Show thermal port

  • Plots I-V characteristics of an integral protection diode

  • Generates surface plots of energy loss

For more information, see Plot Additional Basic Characteristics of Ideal Semiconductors.

MOSFET (Ideal, Switching)No thermal port or Show thermal port

  • Plots I-V characteristics of an integral protection diode

  • Generates surface plots of energy loss

For more information, see Plot Additional Basic Characteristics of Ideal Semiconductors.

N-Channel IGBT Full I-V and capacitance characteristics | No thermal portNone
N-Channel MOSFETThreshold based or Surface potential basedNone
P-Channel MOSFETThreshold based or Surface potential basedNone
N-Channel LDMOS FETNo thermal portNone
P-Channel LDMOS FETNo thermal portNone
N-Channel JFETNo thermal portNone
P-Channel JFETNo thermal portNone
NPN Bipolar TransistorNo thermal portNone
PNP Bipolar TransistorNo thermal portNone
Light-Emitting DiodeNo thermal portPlots current versus optical power
PhotodiodeNo thermal portPlots I-V characteristics at different flux densities

Note

The N-Channel MOSFET and P-Channel MOSFET blocks also support the Explore characteristics option. Use this option to perform an in-depth study of block characteristics and match the block behavior to a set of target characteristics. To enable this option, set the Modeling option parameter of the block to Surface potential based. Then, right-click the block and select Electrical > Explore characteristics from the context menu. For more information about this option, see MOSFET Characteristics Viewer.

Plot Additional Basic Characteristics of Ideal Semiconductors

Since R2023b

The Basic characteristics option has additional capabilities with these blocks from the Semiconductors library:

The plots you generate with the Basic characteristics option depend on the values you specify for the Modeling option, On-state behavior and losses, and Integral protection diode parameters of the block.

To plot only the on-state and off-state I-V characteristics of the switching device, set the Modeling option parameter to No thermal port and set the Integral protection diode parameter to None. Then, right-click the block in your model and select Electrical > Basic characteristics from the context menu. For example, the Basic characteristics option generates this plot for the IGBT (Ideal, Switching) block with default parameter values.

You can also plot the on-state and off-state I-V characteristics of an integral protection diode. Set the Integral Protection Diode parameter to Diode with no dynamics or Diode with charge dynamics. The Basic characteristics option plots the I-V characteristics of the switching device and the integral protection diode side-by-side.

You can also generate surface plots of the turn-on energy loss and turn-off energy loss as functions of the on-state current and off-state voltage. Set the Modeling option parameter to Show thermal port and set the On-state behavior and losses parameter to Specify constant values. The Basic characteristics option opens the surface plots in this figure in a separate window to the I-V characteristics plots.

If you set the On-state behavior and losses parameter to Tabulate, the Basic characteristics option plots the results over a range of temperatures. Surface plots for different temperatures open in different windows. The I-V characteristics plots show the results for different temperatures on a single graph in an additional window.

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