Advances in SiC power MOSFET technology

Abstract

In recent years, SiC has received increased attention because of its potential for a wide variety of high temperature, high power, high frequency, and/or radiation hardened applications under which conventional semiconductors cannot adequately perform. For semiconductor devices designed to operate in these harsh conditions, SiC offers an unmatched combination of electronic and physical properties. The availability of SiC wafers on a commercial basis has led to the demonstration of many types of metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS)-gated devices that exploit its unique properties. To which extent the potential of SiC power MOSFET can be utilized is a question of appropriate SiC polytype, device structure, MOS interface quality and maturity of the technology. This paper reviews the present status of the SiC power MOSFETs technology that is approaching commercialization. Emphasis is placed upon the impact of SiO2-SiC interface quality on the performance of SiC MOSFETs.