Abstract
The behavior of 4H-SiC power diodes under radiation exposure and related issues are investigated and reviewed in this chapter. The fundamentals of power diodes and radiation are introduced. The DC performance of unterminated SiC junction barrier Schottky (JBS) diodes and Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) under gamma radiation shows the significant tolerance of SiC diodes to gamma radiation exposure. The breakdown voltage increase after gamma radiation is ascribed to changes in the SiC/SiO2 interface. Investigation of SiC MOS capacitors confirmed this effect. NO passivation is shown to effectively improve the SiC/SiO2 interface and the interface charge density even after gamma irradiation. Both the DC and the AC performance of SiC JBS/SBDs under high-dose proton irradiation were also investigated. SiC JBS devices show a degradation of series resistance (R S) and improvements of reverse leakage current and blocking voltage after high-fluence proton exposure. The AC performance after proton irradiation shows that SiC JBS diodes are very effective in minimizing switching losses for high-power applications, even under high levels of radiation exposure, indicating superior radiation hardness for SiC switching diodes. We conclude that SiC power devices hold much promise for power-switching systems operating in a radiation environment.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
B.J. Baliga, Power Semiconductor Devices, Boston: PWS Publishing Co., 1995.
S. Seshadri, R. Dulloo, F. Ruddy, J. Seidel, and L. Rowland, “Demonstration of an SiC neutron detector for high-radiation environments”, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 46, 567–571, 1999.
J. McGarrity, F. Mclean, W. Delancey, J. Palmour, C. Carter, J. Edmond, and R. Oakley, “Silicon carbide JFET radiation response”, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 39, 1974–1981, 1992.
T. Ohshima, M. Yoshikawa, H. Itoh, Y. Aoki, and I. Nashiyama, “gamma-Ray irradiation effects on 6H-SiC MOSFET”, Mater. Sci. Eng. B 61–62, 480–484, 1999.
David C. Sheridan, Ph. D thesis, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Auburn University, 2000.
E.H. Rhoderick, R.H. Williams, “Metal-semiconductor contacts”, Oxford University Press, New York 1988.
E.G. Stassinopoulos and J.P. Raymond, “The space radiation environment for electronics”, Proc. IEEE 76, 1423–1442, 1988.
E.A. Gutierrez, D.M.J. Deen, and C.L. Claeys, “Low Temperature Electronics”, Chap. 4, Academic Press, San Diego 2001.
K.J. Schoen, J.M. Woodall, J.A. Cooper Jr., and M.R. Melloch, “Design considerations and experimental analysis of high-voltage SiC Schottky barrier rectifiers”, IEEE Trans. Electron Dev. 45, 1595–1604, 1998.
Q. Wahab, T. Kimoto, A. Ellison, C. Hallin, M. Tuominen, R. Yakimova, A. Henry, J.P. Bergman, and E. Janzen, “A 3 kV Schottky barrier diode in 4H-SiC”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 72, 445–447, 1998.
D. Alok, B.J. Baliga, “SiC device edge termination using finite area argon implantation”, IEEE Trans. Electron Dev. 44, 1013–1017, 1997.
S. Ortolland, M.L. Locatelli, D. Planson, J.P. Chante, and A. Senes, “Comparison between aluminum and boron-doped junction termination extensions for high voltage 6H-SiC planar bipolar diodes”, Mater. Sci. Forum 264–268, 1045–1048, 1998.
D. Peters, R. Schorner, K.H. Holzlein, and P. Friedrichs, “Planar aluminum-implanted 1400 V 4H-silicon carbice p—n diodes with low on resistance”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 71, 2996–2997, 1997.
M.S. Adler, V.A.K. Temple, A.P. Ferro, R.C. Rustay, “Theory and breakdown voltage for planar devices with a single field limiting ring”, IEEE Trans. Electron Dev. 24, 107–113, 1977.
D.C. Sheridan, G. Niu, J.N. Merrett, J.D. Cressler, C. Ellis, and C.-C. Tin, “Design and fabrication of planar guard ring termination for high-voltage SiC diodes”, Solid State Electron. 44, 1367–1372, 2000.
MEDICI 2-D semi. device simulator, Avant! Corp., Palo Alto, CA, 1999.
D.C. Sheridan, G. Chung, S. Clark, and J.D. Cressler, “The effects of high-dose gamma irradiation on high-voltage 4H-SiC Schottky diodes and the SiC—SiO2 interface”, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 48, 2229–2232, 2001.
R. Stengl and E. Falck, “Surface breakdown and stability of high-voltage planar junctions”, IEEE Trans. Electron Dev. 38, 2181–2188, 1991.
B.J. Baliga, “High voltage silicon carbide devices.” Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 512, Wide-Bandgap Semiconductors for High Power, High Frequency and High Temperature, eds. S. DenBaars, J. Palmour, M. Shur, and M. Spencer, 77–89, 1998.
D.K. Schroder, Semiconductor Material and Device Characterization. London: Wiley, 1998.
H. Yano, T. Kimoto, H. Matsunami, M. Bassler, and G. Pensl, “MOSFET performance of 4H-, 6H-, and 15R-SiC processed by dry and wet oxidation”, Mater. Sci. Forum 338–342, 1109–1112, 2000.
H.F. Li, S. Dimitrijev, D. Sweatman, and H.B. Harrison, “Effect of NO annealing conditions on electrical characteristics of n-type 4H-SiC MOS capacitors”, J. Electron. Mater. 29, 1027, 2000.
G.Y. Chung, C.C. Tin, J.R. Williams, K. McDonald, M. Di Ventra, S.T. Pantelides, “Effect of nitric oxide annealing on the interface trap densities near the band edges in the 4H polytype of silicon carbide”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 76, 1713–1715, 2000.
G.Y. Chung, C.C. Tin, J.R. Williams, K. McDonald, P.K. Chanana, R.A. Weller, S.T. Pantelides, L.C. Feldman, O.W. Holland, M.K. Das, and J.W. Palmour, “Improved inversion channel mobility for 4H-SiC MOSFETs following high temperature anneals in nitric oxide”, IEEE Electron Dev. Lett. 22, 176–178, 2001.
T.B. Chen, Z.Y. Luo, J.D. Cressler, T.F. Isaacs-Smith, J.R. Williams, G.Y. Chung, and S. Clark, “The effects of NO passivation on the radiation response of SiO2/4H-SiC MOS capacitors”, Solid State Electron. 46, 2231–2235, 2002.
Z. Shaneld, G.A. Brown, A.G. Revesz, H.L. Hughes, “A new MOS radiation-induced charge: negative fixed interface charge”, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 39, 303–307, 1992.
F.T. Brady, J.T. Chu, S.S. Li, and W. Krull, “A study of the effects of processing on the response of implanted buried oxides to total dose irradiation”, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 37, 1995–2000, 1990.
D.C. Look and J.R. Sizelove, “Defect production in electron-irradiated n-type GaAs”, J. Appl. Phys. 62, 3660–3664, 1987.
A.M. Strel’chuk, A.A. Lebedev, V.V. Kozlovski, N.S. Savkina, D.V. Davydov, V.V. Solov’ev, and M.G. Rastegaeva, “Doping of 6H-SiC pn structures by proton irradiation”, Nucl. Instrum. Methods B 147, 74–78, 1998.
http://www.diodes.com/datasheets/ds25002.pdf
W.A. Doolittle, A. Rohatgi, R. Ahrenkiel, D. Levi, G. Augustine, and R.H. Hopkins, “Understanding the role of defects in limiting the minority carrier lifetime in SiC”, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 483, Power Semiconductor Materials and Devices, eds. S.J. Pearton, R.J. Shul, E. Wolfgang, F. Ren, S. Tenconi, 197–202 (1997).
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Luo, Z., Chen, T., Sheridan, D.C., Cressler, J.D. (2004). 4H-SiC Power-Switching Devices for Extreme-Environment Applications. In: Feng, Z.C. (eds) SiC Power Materials. Springer Series in Materials Science, vol 73. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-09877-6_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-09877-6_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-05845-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-09877-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive