Design, Yield and Process Capability Study of 8 kV 4H-SiC PIN Diodes

Abstract:

This paper presents a study of performance and scalability of 8kV SiC PIN diodes focusing on area-dependent yield and sensitivity to material properties variation. Successfully fabricated 18 and 36 mm2 SiC-PiN diodes exhibited avalanche breakdown above 8 kV and < 5V forward voltage drop at 100 A/cm2 current density. The fast switching operation of these diodes up to ~5 kHz frequency is evidenced by reverse recovery measurements with by double-pulse inductive switching tests. The devices exhibit 0.142 and 0.169 uC/cm2 stored charge at room temperature and 125oC, respectively, when turned-off from Jf = 100A/cm2 to Vr = 2.1 kV. The measured diode breakdown voltage exhibited location and size dependent yield, indicating the necessity of material quality improvements for production.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volumes 717-720)
• Pages: 953-956
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.717-720.953
• Online since: May 2012
• Authors: Alexander Bolotnikov, Peter A. Losee, Kevin Matocha, Jeff Nasadoski, John Glaser, Steve Arthur, Z. Stum, J. Garrett, Ahmed Elasser, Ljubisa Stevanovic, Harsh Naik, T. Paul Chow
• Keywords: Carrier Lifetime, Forward Voltage Drop, High Voltage (HV), PiN Diode, Reverse Recovery, Switching Behavior

References

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