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Degradation of Current Gain in SiC BJTs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Anant Agarwal ,
Sumi Krishnaswami ,
James Richmond ,
Craig Capell ,
Sei-Hyung Ryu ,
John Palmour ,
Kenneth Jones  and
Charles Scozzie
Anant Agarwal
Affiliation:
anant_agarwal@cree.com, Cree Inc., SiC Power Devices, 4600 Silicon Dr., Durham, NC, 27703, United States, (919) 313-5539, (919) 313-5696
Sumi Krishnaswami
Affiliation:
Sumi_Krishnaswami@cree.com, Cree Inc., Durham, NC, 27703, United States
James Richmond
Affiliation:
Jim_Richmond@cree.com, Cree Inc., Durham, NC, 27703, United States
Craig Capell
Affiliation:
Craig_capell@cree.com, Cree Inc., Durham, NC, 27703, United States
Sei-Hyung Ryu
Affiliation:
Sei-Hyung_ryu@cree.com, Cree Inc., Durham, NC, 27703, United States
John Palmour
Affiliation:
John_palmour@cree.com, Cree Inc., Durham, NC, 27703, United States
Kenneth Jones
Affiliation:
kajones@arl.army.mil, Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, MD, 20783, United States
Charles Scozzie
Affiliation:
sscozzie@arl.army.mil, Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, MD, 20783, United States
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Abstract

The reduction in the current gain of SiC BJTs has been observed after operating the devices for as little as 15 minutes. It is accompanied by an increase in the on-resistance of the BJT. The origin of the current gain degradation in the BJTs is investigated. Two possible mechanisms, which may be simultaneously present in the device, are thought to be responsible: (a) increase in the surface recombination particularly in the region between the emitter and the base implant, and (b) bulk recombination in the base due to the generation and growth of stacking faults. Initial observation reveals the presence of stacking fault in the base-emitter region when the device is forward-biased. At the same time, minimizing the effect of recombination from the surface using improved passivation helped in the suppression of the current gain degradation in SiC BJTs.

Keywords

deviceselectrical propertiesmicroelectronics
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 911: Symposium B – Silicon Carbide 2006 – Materials, Processing and Devices , 2006 , 0911-B11-04
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

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References

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