Unifying Concepts for Ion-Induced Leakage Current Degradation in Silicon Carbide Schottky Power Diodes

Abstract

Reed, R. A.; Schrimpf, R. D.; Alles, J. M.; Lauenstein, J. M.; Javanainen, A.; Raman, A.; Chakraborty, P. S. et al. (2020). Unifying Concepts for Ion-Induced LeakageAbstract-The onset of ion-induced reverse leakage current in SiC Schottky diodes is shown to depend on material properties, ion LET, and bias during irradiation, but not the voltage rating of the parts. This is demonstrated experimentally for devices from multiple manufacturers with voltage ratings from 600 V to 1700 V. Using a device with a higher breakdown voltage than required in the application does not provide increased robustness related to leakage current degradation, compared to using a device with a lower voltage rating.

Isotopic Enriched and Natural SiC Junction Barrier Schottky Diodes Under Heavy Ion Irradiation

“…There are two main observations in this work: first, while the results are comparable for both types of devices, the data may indicate marginally lower thresholds for the isotopic type at 7.7 MeV-cm 2 /mg and 14.5 MeV-cm 2 /mg; secondly, the threshold voltage for leakage current degradation appears to be slightly higher than previously published literature [16], [17].…”

“…The trend is also slightly higher for the natural type at the lower LET values, expect maybe for the D3 device at around 6 MeVcm 2 /mg in [18]. If the work in [17] suggests an independence on voltage rating, n-drift layer thickness and doping level, the higher threshold measured for this work may suggest another cause.…”

“…Similar results also be seen in Figure 2 in [16] were both Schottky barrier diodes (SBD) and junction barrier diodes (JBS) were tested, and in [18] for 3 different Schottky diodes. The data from [17] -including therein also data from [10] and [8] -and from [16] and [18], are compared to the results in this work in Fig. 15.…”

“…In [17] it is also suggested that the degradation threshold is independent of device parameters, including the breakdown voltage and the epitaxial depth and doping density. Figure 1 in [17] shows a leakage current degradation plot for a wide range of rated breakdown voltage (600-1700 V) were all have [8], and Steffens et al [18]. The values are estimated from the plots in [16], [17], and [18].…”

“…Figure 1 in [17] shows a leakage current degradation plot for a wide range of rated breakdown voltage (600-1700 V) were all have [8], and Steffens et al [18]. The values are estimated from the plots in [16], [17], and [18]. For [18], the data from UCL and GANIL are used -errorbars are not provided, and it is assumed that the data points corresponds to the onset of leakage current degradation.…”