| Abstract Scope |
The recent surge in the demand for SiC Power Schottky diodes in commercial applications suggests that a number of key material and device issues pertaining to the defects, design, production, cost, reliability and applications issues with respect to the diodes have been successfully addressed by the SiC community, at large. The relatively low voltage SiC diodes (600 to 1700 V) are currently being used in Switch Mode Power Supplies and Power Converters for Solar Cells. The next big mass-market for SiC diodes will be in the Hybrid and Plug-In Automotive segment, provided the benefits of using the SiC diodes out-weigh the cost of the diodes. In this respect, it is important to see the overall impact on the system cost rather than simply concentrating on the component cost. In this paper, we will present the cost/benefit analysis of above mentioned applications and try to identify the critical issues that may be addressed in future to improve the cost/benefit ratio in favor of using SiC diodes. For applications requiring higher voltage Schottky diodes and/or PiN diodes, the recombination-induced Stacking Faults and their effects on reverse leakage currents as well as forward conduction are important issues that need to be addressed. In addition, doping and uniformity of life-time are critical issues. Furthermore, there are significant device design challenges to optimize the design for high voltage applications such as designing for high dv/dt, avalanche and surge ratings. There are multiple well known issues with SiC power MOSFETs and IGBTs such as low inversion layer mobility, low threshold voltage and oxide reliability. While a significant research focus is being directed on these issues, many significant process integration issues, which impact the cost of the product such as high temperature ion-implantation and activation, need to be addressed. The cost/benefit analysis of MOSFETs and IGBTs for applications in Converters for Solar Cells, Hybrid and Plug-In Automotive segment and Smart Grids will be presented. |