10 kV Silicon Carbide PiN Diodes—From Design to Packaged Component Characterization

Abstract

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.

Demonstration of the Short-circuit Ruggedness of a 10 kV Silicon Carbide Bipolar Junction Transistor

“…The peripheral protection implantation dose was higher than expected. This problem has been corrected for the third run of the PiN diodes that withstand more than 12 kV [8]. The same improvement can be made on the BJT and the same results are expected.…”

“…Bu cm² which shows a resistivity modulation, classical in a bipolar device. For an epitaxy able to withstand 13 kV [8], this value is slightly better than the unipolar limit and shows that resistivity modulation can be achieved on these devices. The current gain has been measured both by means of a B1506 power device analyzer and with the custom test bench.…”

“…The fabricated devices were tested in static, dynamic and short-circuit conditions. Their state-of-the-art performance is reported in [8], [9]. This paper reports the superior short-circuit ruggedness of the 10 kV SiC BJT and provides potential improvement ideas in order to yield an even better device with lower static and dynamic losses.…”

Gate Current and Snapback of 4H-SiC Thyristors on N+ Substrate for Power-Switching Applications

“…The thermal conductivity of 4H-SiC is 3.3-4.9 W cm −1 K −1 , which is also greater than that of Si, which is 1.4-1.5 W cm −1 K −1 . Therefore, 4H-SiC is well-suited for use in power switches [8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Recently, various research results related to the SiC power devices have been published.…”

“…Recently, various research results related to the SiC power devices have been published. The 10 kV SiC pin diode [11], 11 kV SiC merged pin-Schottky diode [12], SiC-based solid state circuit breaker [13], and intelligent control using SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor for reduced electromagnetic interference generation [14] were reported.…”