Electrothermal Issues in 4H-SiC 600 V Schottky Diodes in Forward Mode: Experimental Characterization, Numerical Simulations and Analytical Modelling

Abstract:

The electrothermal behavior of 4H-SiC 600 V Schottky diodes operated in forward mode is analyzed through numerical and analytically-based simulations. It is shown that the unexpected occurrence of voltage surges systematically detected in state-of-the-art devices is a thermally-induced effect due to the compound contribution of a) the negative temperature coefficient of the forward current at high voltages and b) the relatively high package-to-ambient thermal resistance. As a main result, it is demonstrated that the proposed approaches are suitable to accurately predict the value of a “critical” current density beyond which voltage surges may arise.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volumes 527-529)
• Pages: 1151-1154
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.527-529.1151
• Online since: October 2006
• Authors: Andrea Irace, Vincenzo d'Alessandro, Giovanni Breglio, Paolo Spirito, Andrea Bricconi, Rossano Carta, Diego Raffo, Luigi Merlin
• Keywords: Electro-Thermal Simulation, Schottky Diode, Thermal Resistance, Voltage Surge

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