Nanometer-scale imaging of magnetization and current density is the key to deciphering the mechanisms behind a variety of new and poorly understood condensed matter phenomena. The recently discovered correlated states hosted in atomically layered materials such as twisted bilayer graphene or van der Waals heterostructures are noteworthy examples. Manifestations of these states range from superconductivity, to highly insulating states, to magnetism. Their fragility and susceptibility to spatial inhomogeneities limits their macroscopic manifestation and complicates conventional transport or magnetization measurements, which integrate over an entire sample. In contrast, techniques for imaging weak magnetic field patterns with high spatial resolution overcome inhomogeneity by measuring the local fields produced by magnetization and current density. Already, such imaging techniques have shown the vulnerability of correlated states in twisted bilayer graphene to twist-angle disorder and revealed the complex current flows in quantum Hall edge states. Here, we review the state-of-the-art techniques most amenable to the investigation of such systems, because they combine the highest magnetic field sensitivity with the highest spatial resolution and are minimally invasive: magnetic force microscopy, scanning superconducting quantum interference device microscopy, and scanning nitrogen-vacancy center microscopy. We compare the capabilities of these techniques, their required operating conditions, and assess their suitability to different types of source contrast, in particular magnetization and current density. Finally, we focus on the prospects for improving each technique and speculate on its potential impact, especially in the rapidly growing field of two-dimensional materials.

The aim of this paper is to provide an extensive overview about the state-of-art commercially available SiC power MOSFET, focusing on their short-circuit ruggedness. A detailed literature investigation has been carried out, in order to collect and understand the latest research contribution within this topic and create a survey of the present scenario of SiC MOSFETs reliability evaluation and failure mode analysis, pointing out the evolution and improvements as well as the future challenges in this promising device technology.

We use a scanning nanometer-scale superconducting quantum interference device to map the stray magnetic field produced by individual ferromagnetic nanotubes (FNTs) as a function of applied magnetic field. The images are taken as each FNT is led through magnetic reversal and are compared with micromagnetic simulations, which correspond to specific magnetization configurations. In magnetic fields applied perpendicular to the FNT long axis, their magnetization appears to reverse through vortex states, that is, configurations with vortex end domains or in the case of a sufficiently short FNT with a single global vortex. Geometrical imperfections in the samples and the resulting distortion of idealized magnetization configurations influence the measured stray-field patterns.

The reliability analysis and lifetime prediction for SiC-based power modules is crucial in order to fulfill the design specifications for nextgeneration power converters. This paper presents a fast mission-profile-based simulation strategy for a commercial 1.2 kV all-SiC power module used in a photovoltaic (PV) inverter topology. The approach relies on a fast condition-mapping simulation structure and the detailed electro-thermal modeling of the module topology and devices. Both parasitic electrical elements and thermal impedance network are extracted from the finite-element analysis of the module geometry. The use of operating conditions mapping and look-up tables enables the simulation of very long timescales in only a few minutes, preserving at the same time the accuracy of circuit-based simulations. The accumulated damage related to thermo-mechanical stress on the module is determined analytically and a simple consumed lifetime calculation is performed for two different mission profiles and compared in different operating conditions.

This paper presents the impact of a short-circuit event on the gate reliability in planar SiC MOSFETs, which becomes more critical with increased junction temperature and higher bias voltages. The electrical waveforms indicate that a gate degradation mechanism takes place, showing a large gate leakage current that increases as the gate degrades more and more. A failure analysis has been performed on the degraded SiC MOSFET and then compared to the structure of a new device to identify possible defects/abnormalities. A Focused Ion Beam cut is performed showing a number of differences in comparison to the new device: (i) cracks between the poly-silicon gate and aluminium source, (ii) metal particles near the source contact, and (iii) alterations in the top surface of the aluminium source. The defects have been correlated with the increase in gate-leakage current and drain-leakage current.