New Insight into Single-Event Radiation Failure Mechanisms in Silicon Carbide Power Schottky Diodes and MOSFETs

Abstract:

Ion-induced leakage current degradation, and single-event burnout may be manifestestations of the same device mechanisms in both silicon carbide power diodes and MOSFETs. In all cases there is a migration of the electrical field from the front body-drain interface to the back epi-drain n+ interface, with a peak exceeding the critical electric field of silicon carbide, causing avalanche generation which enables high short-duration power densities during an approximate 20 psec window after the ion strike. The degradation effect in JBS SiC diodes seems to be independent of the length of the epitaxial region for different voltage-rated diodes.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volume 1004)
• Pages: 1066-1073
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.1004.1066
• Online since: July 2020
• Authors: Arthur F. Witulski*, Dennis R. Ball, Robert A. Johnson, Kenneth F. Galloway, Andrew L. Sternberg, Michael L. Alles, Robert A. Reed, Ronald D. Schrimpf, John M. Hutson, Arto Javanainen, Jean-Marie Lauenstein, David Grider, Daniel J. Lichtenwalner, Ashok Raman, Robert Arslanbekov
• Keywords: Electric Field Redistribution, Heavy-Ions, Ion-Induced Leakage Current, Schottky Junction Barrier Diode, Single-Event Burnout, Single-Events, Vertical Power MOSFET

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