Simulation study of a 4H-SiC lateral BJT for monolithic power integration

Abstract

Power integration based on 4H-SiC is a very promising technology for high-frequency and high-temperature power electronics applications. However, the fabrication processes used in Si BiCMOS technology is not applicable in 4H-SiC at present, and few studies on the monolithic power integration of the SiC signal devices and power devices have been reported. In this paper, we propose a novel lateral BJT structure, which is suitable for monolithically integrating with the vertical power BJT on the same epitaxial wafer at the cost of one additional mask. The signal BJT’s static and dynamic characteristics are comprehensively investigated by TCAD simulation. Simulation results show that the common-emitter current gains of the 4H-SiC signal BJT are 133 and 52 at room temperature and 300 °C, respectively. Its implementation in an inverter shows that its switching time is about 200 ns.