Hiroki Niwa

21-kV SiC BJTs With Space-Modulated Junction Termination Extension

We report here 20-kV-class small-area (0.035 mm2) 4H-SiC bipolar junction transistors. We implemented edge termination techniques featuring two-zone junction termination extension and space-modulated rings. On-state characteristics showed a current gain of 63 and a specific on-resistance of 321 mΩ·cm2, which is slightly below the SiC unipolar limit. We achieved the open-base blocking voltage of 21 kV at a leakage current of 0.1 mA/cm2, which is the highest blocking voltage among any semiconductor switching devices.

Ultrahigh-Voltage SiC p-i-n Diodes With Improved Forward Characteristics

Silicon carbide (SiC) p-i-n diodes having five different n--layer (i-layer) thicknesses from 48 to 268 μm are fabricated. The forward characteristics of SiC p-i-n diodes are significantly improved by carrier-lifetime enhancement. After this improvement, the differential on-resistance is inversely proportional to the square root of current density for all the diodes with different thicknesses of n--layer. As a result, the forward current density-voltage characteristics can be approximately expressed by a parabolic function, as in the case of Si p-i-n diodes. Using a 268-μm-thick n--layer, the lifetime enhancement, and an improved space-modulated junction termination extension structure, a very high blocking voltage over 26.9 kV and low differential on-resistance of 9.7 mΩ·cm2 are achieved.

21.7 kV 4H-SiC PiN Diode with a Space-Modulated Junction Termination Extension

Ultrahigh-voltage 4H-SiC mesa PiN diodes are fabricated and characterized. An original space-modulated two-zone junction termination extension (SM-two-zone JTE) has realized a laterally tapered profile of the JTE dose, which enlarged the tolerance to the deviation of effective JTE dose compared with a conventional two-zone JTE. We demonstrate a SiC PiN diode with a breakdown voltage of 21.7 kV (81% of the ideal breakdown voltage calculated from the epilayer structure), which is the highest breakdown voltage among any semiconductor devices ever reported.

Breakdown characteristics of 12–20 kV-class 4H-SiC PiN diodes with improved junction termination structures

Ultrahigh-voltage 4H-SiC PiN diodes with improved junction termination extension (JTE) structures have been investigated. Breakdown characteristics of 4H-SiC PiN diodes with conventional single-zone JTE was shown to be severely affected by the charge near the SiO2/SiC interface from experiment and device simulation. Taking the effect of the interface charge into account, and by using “Space-Modulated” JTE structure with a wide optimum JTE-dose window to tolerate the impact of interface charge, we achieved a breakdown voltage of 21.7 kV (81 % of the ideal breakdown voltage calculated from the epilayer structure), which is the highest breakdown voltage among any semiconductor devices ever reported.

Breakdown Characteristics of 15-kV-Class 4H-SiC PiN Diodes With Various Junction Termination Structures

15-kV-class 4H-SiC PiN diodes with various junction termination structures have been experimentally investigated. Employment of the space-modulated junction termination extension (SM-JTE) and the two-zone JTE have realized a breakdown voltage over 15 kV, corresponding to 93% of the parallel-plane breakdown voltage. The window of the implanted JTE dose to achieve the ultrahigh voltage has been enlarged, which indicates the robustness to the deviation of effective JTE dose. From the comparison of the experimental JTE-dose dependence of breakdown voltage with the numerical device simulation, a shift toward the heavier JTE-dose region was observed. To explain the phenomenon, effects of the charges at the SiO2/SiC interface are discussed.

Impact Ionization Coefficients in 4H-SiC Toward Ultrahigh-Voltage Power Devices

A temperature dependence of impact ionization coefficients in 4H-SiC was studied in a wide range of electric field toward the accurate designing of ultrahigh-voltage devices. The photomultiplication measurement was conducted for various photodiodes with different multiplication layer structures to obtain multiplication factors and ionization coefficients in a wide range of electric field strength. Especially, using multiplication layer structure with low doping concentration, the hole impact ionization coefficient was extracted at low electric field of 1 MV/cm. In high-temperature measurement, the hole ionization coefficient decreased with the increase of temperature, as observed in other semiconductor materials. For the electron ionization coefficient, however, its temperature dependence was very small and values obtained at room temperature could be used, at least up to 150 °C.

Ion implantation technology in SiC for power device applications

Silicon carbide (SiC) is a newly-emerging wide bandgap semiconductor, by which high-voltage, low-loss power devices can be realized owing to its superior properties. Because of its strong bonding energy and thermal stability, however, special cares must be paid to form high-quality junctions by ion implantation. This paper reviews present status and remaining issues of ion implantation technology in SiC. Requirements of hot implantation and high-temperature annealing are discussed in terms of electrical activation, defect generation, and junction characteristics. Furthermore, recent progress in junction termination for high-voltage SiC devices by using ion implantation is described.

Ultrahigh-Voltage (> 20 kV) SiC PiN Diodes with a Space-Modulated JTE and Lifetime Enhancement Process via Thermal Oxidation

Ultrahigh-voltage SiC PiN diodes with an original junction termination extension (JTE) structure and improved forward characteristics are presented. A space-modulated JTE (SM-JTE) structure was designed by device simulation, and a high breakdown voltage of 26.9 kV was achieved by using a 270 μm-thick epilayer and 1050 μm-long JTE. In addition, lifetime enhancement process via thermal oxidation was performed to improve the forward characteristics. The on-resistance of the SiC PiN diodes was remarkably reduced by lifetime enhancement process. The temperature dependence of the on-resistance was also discussed.

Temperature Dependence of Impact Ionization Coefficients in 4H-SiC

Impact ionization coefficients of 4H-SiC were measured at room temperature and at elevated temperatures up to 200°C. Photomultiplication measurement was done in two complementary photodiodes to measure the multiplication factors of holes (Mp) and electrons (Mn), and ionization coefficients were extracted. Calculated breakdown voltage using the obtained ionization coefficients showed good agreement with the measured values in this study, and also in other reported PiN diodes and MOSFETs. In high-temperature measurement, breakdown voltage exhibited a positive temperature coefficient and multiplication factors showed a negative temperature coefficient. Therefore, extracted ionization coefficient has decreased which can be explained by the increase of phonon scattering. The calculated temperature dependence of breakdown voltage agreed well with the measured values not only for the diodes in this study, but also in PiN diode in other literature.

Ultrahigh-Voltage SiC MPS Diodes With Hybrid Unipolar/Bipolar Operation

In this paper, ultrahigh-voltage (UHV) SiC devices with hybrid unipolar/bipolar operation are introduced and demonstrated. As the first step of such a device, a merged p-i-n Schottky (MPS) diode with an epitaxial p+-anode layer is proposed to reduce the conduction loss of a bipolar device in the low current region. A “snapback” phenomenon is intensively investigated by analytical modeling, device simulation, and experiment and a design guideline of snapback-free hybrid operating MPS diodes is presented. Using the design guideline, snapback-free MPS diodes are fabricated and forward characteristics are investigated. By using a proper edge termination structure, a UHV SiC MPS diode with breakdown voltage of 11.3 kV is demonstrated.