Robustness of Semi-Superjunction 4H-SiC Power DMOSFETs to Single-Event Burnout from Heavy Ion Bombardment

Abstract:

We compare the failure mechanism and performance of a silicon carbide (SiC) semi-superjunction (semi-SJ) power DMOSFET against pure SJ and conventional DMOSFET when struck by a single heavy ion. The Single-Event Burnout (SEB) failure mechanism was identified as the thermal runaway from second breakdown resulting in mesoplasma formation. The semi-SJ design shifts the mesoplasma location from the drift/substrate interface seen in the control device structures to a location along the center of the P-pillar and closer towards the DMOSFET surface, thus significantly improving the SEB threshold voltage (V_SEB). The V_SEB varies with pillar width and ratio of pillar thickness to drift layer thickness. A maximum value of V_SEB is reached when the pillar to drift layer ratio is 0.9 and the pillar width is 2.4 μm. The semi-SJ SEB/breakdown voltage ratio is 100% and 13% higher than the pure SJ and conventional DMOSFET, respectively. Using a new Figure of Merit (FoM), which accounts for the tradeoff between V_SEB and on-state performance, we find that the SiC semi-SJ DMOSFET achieves a FoM that is 1.8 and 8 times higher than SJ and conventional DMOSFET, respectively, making the semi-SJ a competitive candidate for radiation hardened applications.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volume 1062)
• Pages: 683-687
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-uf94le
• Online since: May 2022
• Authors: Joseph A. McPherson*, Andrew A. Woodworth, T. Paul Chow, Wei Ji
• Keywords: DMOSFET, Heavy Ions, Power MOSFET, Single-Event Burnout, Single-Event Effects, Superjunction

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