Single-Event Burnout of Silicon Carbide Schottky Barrier Diodes Caused by High Energy Protons

Abstract

It was demonstrated that single-event burnout was observed in silicon carbide Schottky barrier diodes with high energy proton irradiation. The behavior was successfully explained using a failure density function based on the geometric distribution. Responsible spallation fragments to trigger the single-event burnout were identified by Geant4 simulations.Index Terms-High energy protons, Schottky barrier diode, single-event burnout (SEB), silicon carbide (SiC), silicon carbide, single-event burnout.

Single-Event Burnout of SiC Junction Barrier Schottky Diode High-Voltage Power Devices

“…In addition, efficient Schottky switching diodes in SiC can be manufactured that exhibit very low on-state voltage and minimal turn-off switching loss with almost no reverserecovery behavior, which makes SiC a good candidate for space power conversion applications. However, the sensitivity of SiC power devices (MOSFETs and diodes) to particle radiation has been found to be higher than expected, given the wide bandgap and high critical electric field, as shown by multiple researchers who have consistently measured significant leakage current increases and single-event burnout in SiC devices [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

Heavy Ion Induced Degradation in SiC Schottky Diodes: Incident Angle and Energy Deposition Dependence

“…In comparison to silicon, it has higher breakdown field and higher thermal conductivity. However, the sensitivity of SiC power devices (MOSFETs and diodes) to particle radiation has been found to be surprisingly high [1]- [3]. Moreover, the radiation response of SiC Schottky devices to heavy ions has been shown to differ from that of silicon-based power devices.…”

Charge Transport Mechanisms in Heavy-Ion Driven Leakage Current in Silicon Carbide Schottky Power Diodes

“…However, Schottky devices, made of SiC [3], Si [6], and GaN [7]- [9], have been reported to exhibit gradual degradation under heavy-ion exposure. SiC Schottky devices also undergo catastrophic SEB when the bias level during irradiation is sufficiently high [1], [3].…”