Method for determining a temperature of a depletion layer of a semiconductor switch, and device

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for determining a temperature of a depletion layer of a semiconductor switch (2), wherein a first electrical voltage (VS′S) between a source terminal (S) of the semiconductor switch (2) and a Kelvin source terminal (S′) of the semiconductor switch (2) is monitored at least during a switch-on process of the semiconductor switch (2), and wherein the temperature of the depletion layer is determined in accordance with the first voltage (VS′S). According to the invention, it is monitored whether a temperature-independent first trigger is present; it is monitored whether a temperature-dependent second trigger is present, wherein, if a first voltage (VS′S) exceeding a predefined first threshold value (Vref1) is detected, it is established that the second trigger is present; a first time interval, which begins when the first trigger is detected and ends when the second trigger is detected, is determined; and the temperature of the depletion layer is determined in accordance with the first time interval.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.