Comparative Numerical Analysis of the Robustness of Si and SiC PiN Diodes Against Cosmic Radiation-Induced Failure

Abstract:

This work aims at extending the predictive simulation technique for cosmic ray-induced failure analysis from Si PiN diodes [1] to SiC PiN diodes. Accurate 3D cylindrical-symmetric transient simulations were performed with a minimum mesh size of 20nm at the center track of the impinging ion and a maximum time step of 0.1ps during the development of the ion-induced transient current. We made a comparative study between a SiC PiN diode and a Si PiN diode with the same blocking voltage of 1.5kV, using the same heavy ion transportation models. In the simulation, we observed different ion-induced current transients, differing not only in the peak value of the current, but also in its duration. Due to different physical mechanisms, the dependence of the ion-induced current on the reverse pre-bias voltage and the numerical mesh adaptations are also different. Eventually, we brieflydiscuss electro-thermal simulations, which indicate once more that the ion-induced transient current in the SiC PiN diodes under consideration is primarily drift current and involves only negligible impact ionization.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volume 1004)
• Pages: 1088-1096
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.1004.1088
• Online since: July 2020
• Authors: Yaren Huang*, Benedikt Lechner, Gerhard Wachutka
• Keywords: Cosmic Radiation, PiN Diode, SEB, SiC, Single Event Burnout

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