Electrothermal Simulation-Based Comparison of 4H-SiC p-i-n, Schottky, and JBS Diodes Under High Current Density Pulsed Operation

• Published in: IEEE transactions on plasma science Vol. 45; no. 1; pp. 68 - 75
• Main Authors: Pushpakaran, Bejoy N., Bayne, Stephen B., Ogunniyi, Aderinto A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.01.2017; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Circuits; Current density; Diodes; Electric currents; High current density; lattice heating; P-i-n diodes; PIN photodiodes; pulsed operation; Schottky diodes; Semiconductor process modeling; Silicon carbide; silicon carbide (SiC); silvaco TCAD; Simulation; Software; thermal hot spot
• ISSN: 0093-3813; 1939-9375
• DOI: 10.1109/TPS.2016.2636214

Pulsed power applications are characterized by very high instantaneous power due to the high voltage and current involved. Power diodes used as a closing switch in pulsed power circuits must be able to withstand the high current operation well above the continuous device rating, for a transient duration. Due to the superior electrothermal properties of wide bandgap Silicon Carbide (SiC) material, it is feasible to develop high Blocking Voltage (BV) Schottky and Junction Barrier Schottky (JBS) diodes besides p-i-n rectifiers. In order to evaluate the device performance under high current density pulsed operation, 2-D models of SiC p-i-n, Schottky, and JBS diodes rated for 3.3-kV BV and 100 A/cm 2 current density were developed using Silvaco ATLAS TCAD software. The diode structures were simulated electrothermally to study the device behavior and compare the performance under high current density pulsed operation. The power dissipation and the lattice temperature profile of the SiC diodes were analyzed to compare the magnitude of heat loss and formation of thermal hot spot in the diode structure to predict the suitability of the device for pulsed power applications.