Heavy-ion induced single-event burnout (SEB) is investigated in high-voltage silicon carbide power MOSFETs. Experimental data for 1200 V SiC power MOSFETs show a significant decrease in SEB onset voltage for particle LETs greater than 10 MeV-cm 2 /mg, above which the SEB threshold voltage is nearly constant at half of the rated maximum operating voltage for these devices. TCAD simulations show a parasitic BJT turn-on mechanism, which drives the avalanching of carriers and leads to runaway drain current, resulting in SEB.

-Experimental results on ion-induced leakage current increase in 4H-SiC Schottky power diodes are presented. Monte Carlo and TCAD simulations show that degradation is due to the synergy between applied bias and ion energy deposition. This degradation is possibly related to thermal spot annealing at the metal semiconductor interface. This thermal annealing leads to an inhomogeneity of the Schottky barrier that could be responsible for the increase leakage current as a function of fluence.

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Heavy ion data suggest that a common mechanism is responsible for single-event burnout in 1200 V power MOSFETs and junction barrier Schottky diodes. Similarly, heavy ion data suggest a common mechanism is also responsible for leakage current degradation in both devices. This mechanism, based on ion-induced, highlylocalized energy pulses, is demonstrated in simulations and shown to be capable of causing degradation and singleevent burnout for both the MOSFETs and JBS diodes.