This paper presents the design, fabrication and characterization results obtained on the last generation (third run) of SiC 10 kV PiN diodes from SuperGrid Institute. In forward bias, the 59 mm2 diodes were tested up to 100 A. These devices withstand voltages up to 12 kV on wafer (before dicing, packaging) and show a low forward voltage drop at 80 A. The influence of the temperature from 25 °C to 125 °C has been assessed and shows that resistivity modulation occurs in the whole temperature range. Leakage current at 3 kV increases with temperature, while being three orders of magnitude lower than those of equivalent Si diodes. Double-pulse switching tests reveal the 10 kV SiC PiN diode’s outstanding performance. Turn-on dV/dt and di/dt are −32 V/ns and 311 A/µs, respectively, whereas turn-off dV/dt and di/dt are 474 V/ns and −4.2 A/ns.
V TH subthreshold hysteresis measured in commercially available 4H-SiC MOSFET is more pronounced in trench than in planar ones. All planar devices from different manufacturers exhibit an inverse temperature dependence, with the hysteresis amplitude reducing as the temperature increases, whereas all trench devices from different manufacturers exhibit the opposite behaviour. A physical interpretation is proposed, based on experimental evidence, which demonstrates that temperature dependence of the V TH subthreshold hysteresis is related to the technology. The findings are relevant to the ongoing discussion on SiC bespoke validation standards development and contribute important new insight.
Power electronic devices based on wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors such as silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN) and diamond (C) offer better performances when compared to those based on silicon (Si). However, the peripheral protection of these devices must be carefully designed to sustain high voltage bias. This paper shows how the OBIC (Optical Beam Induced Current) technique applied to WBG semiconductor devices could be useful to study the efficiency of different protection techniques. Firstly, a theoretical approach is given to present the this electro-optical characterization method. Then, it is performed on high voltage power devices in a vacuum chamber allowing to study the spatial distribution of the electric field in the semiconductor. In addition, comparisons with Finite Elements Methods using TCAD tools are performed showing the local high electric field strength. Results are mainly focused on SiC devices for the sake of availability. This paper shows additional results and measurements on GaN and diamond Schottky diodes also. Finally, extraction of OBIC signals allows to know some physical features like ionization coefficients, minority carrier lifetime and local defects in semiconductors as shown in the last section.
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