Single-Event Phenomena in SiC Power Devices

Silicon carbide (SiC) power devices are increasingly central to high-voltage and high-temperature applications in aerospace, renewable energy and electric vehicles, owing to their superior breakdown voltages, thermal conductivity and low on-resistance compared with silicon. However, exposure to energetic particles such as neutrons, protons and heavy ions can induce instantaneous and latent failures, collectively termed single-event phenomena. These include single-event burnout (SEB), in which localized avalanche multiplication and thermal runaway destroy the device, and sub-threshold damage such as increased leakage or time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) that degrade performance over time. Mechanistic understanding has advanced through experimental irradiation campaigns coupled with technology-computer-aided design simulations and deep-level transient spectroscopy. Studies reveal that microscopic defects—carbon vacancies, interstitials and latent ion tracks—can anneal under thermal stress or trigger parasitic bipolar activation, altering electric-field distributions in the drift region and at oxide interfaces. Device architecture also plays a key role: trench and planar MOSFETs, junction barrier Schottky diodes and PiN rectifiers exhibit distinct vulnerability to SEB, single-event gate rupture and leakage degradation. Optimisation of epitaxial layer design, step-doping profiles and multi-buffer structures has demonstrated notable improvements in SEB thresholds. The global significance of these developments lies in the assurance of reliability for SiC power electronics in harsh environments, from terrestrial grids to spacecraft systems.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Single-Event Phenomena in SiC Power Devices publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in single-event phenomena in sic power devices across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Single Event Burnout (SEB): A destructive failure mode in which a single energetic particle induces runaway avalanche and thermal damage in a power device.

Linear Energy Transfer (LET): The amount of energy deposited per unit length by an ionising particle traversing a material, critical for assessing radiation effects.

Deep-Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS): An electrical characterisation technique for identifying and quantifying defect energy levels within a semiconductor bandgap.

Time-Dependent Dielectric Breakdown (TDDB): Progressive degradation of the gate oxide under sustained electrical stress, leading to eventual dielectric failure.

Parasitic Bipolar Transistor: An unintended bipolar conduction path within a MOSFET structure that can amplify avalanche carriers and trigger SEB.

SiC PiN Diode: A silicon carbide rectifier with a lightly doped intrinsic region between p-type and n-type layers, valued for high-voltage switching.

SiC Power MOSFET: A metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor fabricated in silicon carbide, offering high breakdown voltage and low conduction losses.

References

1. Impact of neutron radiation induced defects on the surge current robustness of silicon carbide P‐intrinsic‐N diodes. Electron (2024).
2. Heavy-ion induced single event effects and latent damages in SiC power MOSFETs. Microelectronics Reliability (2022).
3. Experimental and simulation studies of radiation‐induced single event burnout in SiC‐based power MOSFETs. IET Power Electronics (2021).
4. High-Energy Proton and Atmospheric-Neutron Irradiations of SiC Power MOSFETs: SEB Study and Impact on Channel and Drift Resistances. IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science (2023).
5. A High-Performance SiC Super-Junction MOSFET With a Step-Doping Profile. IEEE Journal of the Electron Devices Society (2021).