Single-Event Burnout Mechanisms in SiC Power MOSFETs

• Published in: IEEE transactions on nuclear science Vol. 65; no. 8; pp. 1951 - 1955
• Main Authors: Witulski, Arthur F., Ball, Dennis R., Galloway, Kenneth F., Javanainen, Arto, Lauenstein, Jean-Marie, Sternberg, Andrew L., Schrimpf, Ronald D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.08.2018; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Burnout; Current density; Device simulations; Heavy ions; High voltages; Impact ionization; MOSFET; MOSFETs; power devices; power MOSFETs; Semiconductor process modeling; Silicon carbide; silicon carbide (SiC); Simulation; single-event burnout (SEB); single-event effects; TCAD; Threshold voltage; Voltage
• ISSN: 0018-9499; 1558-1578; 1558-1578
• DOI: 10.1109/TNS.2018.2849405

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 linear energy transfers 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 bipolar junction transistor turn-on mechanism, which drives the avalanching of carriers and leads to runaway drain current, resulting in SEB.