Characterization of SiC JFET for Temperature Dependent Device Modeling

Silicon Carbide (SiC) is considered the wide band gap semiconductor material that can presently compete with silicon (Si) material for power switching devices. Compact circuit simulation models for SiC devices are of utmost importance for designing and analyzing converter circuits; in particular, if comparisons with Si devices will be performed. The SiC power switching device structure and composition inevitably differs from those of conventional Si devices so as to harness the superiority of the material. The operational characteristics of the device thus are different from those of conventional Si devices. These characteristics cannot be accurately predicted by current Si power device models. Hence, the motivation to develop circuit simulation models for SiC devices. Moreover, SiC transistors have not been characterized as thoroughly as diodes. This paper characterizes SiC JFETs for the purpose of modeling and parameter extraction which can then be utilized in circuit simulations. The characterization is based on the dc (current-voltage) characteristic measurements using a curve tracer and on the ac (capacitance [impedance] — voltage) measurements using an impedance analyzer. Noting that characterization data for SiC JFETs are only available up to an ambient temperature of 250°C, the device is characterized from room temperature to 450°C demonstrating the high temperature operation of SiC JFETs. To this end, the devices were packaged in dedicated high temperature packages, and measurement fixtures were specially fabricated to withstand high ambient temperatures. The body diode buried in the evaluated SiC JFET is also characterized for potential synchronous rectifier applications.

[1]  Juin J. Liou,et al.  JFET circuit simulation using SPICE implemented with an improved model , 1994, IEEE Trans. Comput. Aided Des. Integr. Circuits Syst..

[2]  T. Kimoto,et al.  High performance of high-voltage 4H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes , 1995, IEEE Electron Device Letters.

[3]  M. Bhatnagar,et al.  Silicon carbide high-power devices , 1996 .

[4]  Griff L. Bilbro,et al.  DC I-V characteristics and RF performance of a 4H-SiC JFET at 773 K , 1998 .

[5]  T. Chow,et al.  A comparative evaluation of new silicon carbide diodes and state-of-the-art silicon diodes for power electronic applications , 1999, Conference Record of the 1999 IEEE Industry Applications Conference. Thirty-Forth IAS Annual Meeting (Cat. No.99CH36370).

[6]  P. Friedrichs,et al.  Static and Dynamic Characteristics of 4H-SiC JFETs Designed for Different Blocking Categories , 2000 .

[7]  Allen R. Hefner,et al.  SiC power diodes provide breakthrough performance for a wide range of applications , 2001 .

[8]  Peter Friedrichs,et al.  Application-Oriented Unipolar Switching SiC Devices , 2002 .

[9]  M. Corradin,et al.  Performance evaluation of a Schottky SiC power diode in a boost PFC application , 2002 .

[10]  P. Friedrichs,et al.  Stacked high voltage switch based on SiC VJFETs , 2003, ISPSD '03. 2003 IEEE 15th International Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices and ICs, 2003. Proceedings..

[11]  E. Santi,et al.  An assessment of wide bandgap semiconductors for power devices , 2003 .

[12]  J.W. Kolar,et al.  Evaluation of 1200 V-Si-IGBTs and 1300 V-SiC-JFETs for application in three-phase very sparse matrix AC-AC converter systems , 2003, Eighteenth Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, 2003. APEC '03..

[13]  R. Singh,et al.  Silicon carbide PiN and merged PiN Schottky power diode models implemented in the Saber circuit simulator , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[14]  E. Hanna,et al.  1500 V and 10 A SiC motor drive inverter module , 2004, 2004 Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices and ICs.

[15]  B. Ray,et al.  High temperature design and testing of a DC-DC power converter with Si and SiC devices , 2004, Conference Record of the 2004 IEEE Industry Applications Conference, 2004. 39th IAS Annual Meeting..

[16]  Takashi Hikihara,et al.  SiC JFET dc characteristics under extremely high ambient temperatures , 2004, IEICE Electron. Express.

[17]  A. Agarwal,et al.  10-kV, 123-m/spl Omega//spl middot/cm/sup 2/ 4H-SiC power DMOSFETs , 2004, IEEE Electron Device Letters.

[18]  Degradation of SiC High-Voltage pin Diodes , 2005 .

[19]  Interface passivation for silicon dioxide layers on silicon carbide , 2005 .

[20]  Silicon carbide power field-effect transistors , 2005 .

[21]  B. Ray,et al.  High temperature operation of a dc-dc power converter utilizing SiC power devices , 2005, Twentieth Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, 2005. APEC 2005..

[22]  Takashi Hikihara,et al.  Power Conversion with SiC Devices at Extremely High Ambient Temperatures , 2005 .

[23]  S. Allen,et al.  SiC MESFETs for High-Frequency Applications , 2005 .

[24]  J. C. Zolper,et al.  Advances in Silicon Carbide Electronics , 2005 .

[25]  SiC bipolar power devices , 2005 .

[26]  Takashi Hikihara,et al.  Switching characteristics of SiC JFET and Schottky diode in high-temperature dc-dc power converters , 2005, IEICE Electron. Express.

[27]  A. Radun,et al.  A 1-MHz hard-switched silicon carbide DC–DC converter , 2003, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.