Current Gain Degradation in 4H-SiC Power BJTs

2011 ◽  
Vol 679-680 ◽  
pp. 702-705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedetto Buono ◽  
Reza Ghandi ◽  
Martin Domeij ◽  
Bengt Gunnar Malm ◽  
Carl Mikael Zetterling ◽  
...  

SiC BJTs are very attractive for high power application, but long term stability is still problematic and it could prohibit commercial production of these devices. The aim of this paper is to investigate the current gain degradation in BJTs with no significant degradation of the on-resistance. Electrical measurements and simulations have been used to characterize the behavior of the BJT during the stress test. Current gain degradation occurs, the gain drops from 58 before stress to 43 after 40 hours, and, moreover, the knee current shows fluctuations in its value during the first 20 hours. Current gain degradation has been attributed to increased interface traps or reduced lifetime in the base-emitter region or small stacking faults in the base-emitter region, while fluctuations of the knee current might be due to stacking faults in the collector region.

2012 ◽  
Vol 1433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddarth G. Sundaresan ◽  
Aye-Mya Soe ◽  
Ranbir Singh

ABSTRACTThe reliability of the electrical characteristics of SiC “Super” Junction Transistors (SJTs) is investigated under long-term avalanche-mode, DC and pulsed-current operation. There is absolutely no change in the blocking I-V characteristics after a 934 hour repetitive avalanche stress test. Long-term operation of the Gate-Source diode (open-Drain mode) alone does not result in any degradation of the on-state voltage drop (VF) or current gain (β). Long-term operation in common-Source mode results in negligible VF or β degradation, if the base-plate is maintained at 25 °C. A greater degradation of β results with increasing base-plate temperature. The same total electrical charge, if passed through the SJT as a pulsed current instead of a DC current results in a smaller β reduction. It is also shown that this β degradation can be reversed by annealing at ≥ 200 °C, suggesting the possibility of degradation-free operation of SiC SJTs, when operating in pulsed current mode at ≥ 200 °C temperatures.


2011 ◽  
Vol 58 (8) ◽  
pp. 2665-2669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Ghandi ◽  
Benedetto Buono ◽  
Martin Domeij ◽  
Carl-Mikael Zetterling ◽  
Mikael Ostling

2006 ◽  
Vol 911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anant Agarwal ◽  
Sumi Krishnaswami ◽  
James Richmond ◽  
Craig Capell ◽  
Sei-Hyung Ryu ◽  
...  

AbstractThe 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.


2016 ◽  
Vol 858 ◽  
pp. 929-932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddarth Sundaresan ◽  
Brian Grummel ◽  
Ranbir Singh

The current gain stability of a second generation of 1200 V rated SiC Junction Transistors (SJTs) under long-term DC and pulsed current operation is investigated. A 1000-hour long, 200 A/cm2 DC current stress results in a ≈ 10% reduction of the current gain (β) during the early stages of the stress test, while the β is perfectly stable for the remainder (>90%) of the stress duration. The same amount of stress charge applied as a pulsed current in lieu of DC current results in similar extent of β degradation for the Gen-II SJTs. The pulsed current stressing is conducted at frequencies ranging from 50 kHz to 200 kHz, at a fixed duty cycle of 0.5.


2014 ◽  
Vol 778-780 ◽  
pp. 1017-1020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedetto Buono ◽  
Fredrik Allerstam ◽  
Martin Domeij ◽  
Andrei Konstantinov ◽  
Krister Gumaelius ◽  
...  

In this work, large area SiC BJTs with good long-term stability in 1000 hrs DC stress tests are demonstrated. It is also illustrated how wafer scanning techniques can be used to reject BJT dies with basal plane dislocations, thereby eliminating the risk for bipolar degradation.


2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D.A. Parker ◽  
Donald H. Saklofske ◽  
Laura M. Wood ◽  
Jennifer M. Eastabrook ◽  
Robyn N. Taylor

Abstract. The concept of emotional intelligence (EI) has attracted growing interest from researchers working in various fields. The present study examined the long-term stability (32 months) of EI-related abilities over the course of a major life transition (the transition from high school to university). During the first week of full-time study, a large group of undergraduates completed the EQ-i:Short; 32 months later a random subset of these students (N = 238), who had started their postsecondary education within 24 months of graduating from high school, completed the measures for a second time. The study found EI scores to be relatively stable over the 32-month time period. EI scores were also found to be significantly higher at Time 2; the overall pattern of change in EI-levels was more than can be attributed to the increased age of the participants.


1991 ◽  
Vol 65 (03) ◽  
pp. 263-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
A M H P van den Besselaar ◽  
R M Bertina

SummaryIn a collaborative trial of eleven laboratories which was performed mainly within the framework of the European Community Bureau of Reference (BCR), a second reference material for thromboplastin, rabbit, plain, was calibrated against its predecessor RBT/79. This second reference material (coded CRM 149R) has a mean International Sensitivity Index (ISI) of 1.343 with a standard error of the mean of 0.035. The standard error of the ISI was determined by combination of the standard errors of the ISI of RBT/79 and the slope of the calibration line in this trial.The BCR reference material for thromboplastin, human, plain (coded BCT/099) was also included in this trial for assessment of the long-term stability of the relationship with RBT/79. The results indicated that this relationship has not changed over a period of 8 years. The interlaboratory variation of the slope of the relationship between CRM 149R and RBT/79 was significantly lower than the variation of the slope of the relationship between BCT/099 and RBT/79. In addition to the manual technique, a semi-automatic coagulometer according to Schnitger & Gross was used to determine prothrombin times with CRM 149R. The mean ISI of CRM 149R was not affected by replacement of the manual technique by this particular coagulometer.Two lyophilized plasmas were included in this trial. The mean slope of relationship between RBT/79 and CRM 149R based on the two lyophilized plasmas was the same as the corresponding slope based on fresh plasmas. Tlowever, the mean slope of relationship between RBT/79 and BCT/099 based on the two lyophilized plasmas was 4.9% higher than the mean slope based on fresh plasmas. Thus, the use of these lyophilized plasmas induced a small but significant bias in the slope of relationship between these thromboplastins of different species.


1979 ◽  
Vol 42 (04) ◽  
pp. 1135-1140 ◽  
Author(s):  
G I C Ingram

SummaryThe International Reference Preparation of human brain thromboplastin coded 67/40 has been thought to show evidence of instability. The evidence is discussed and is not thought to be strong; but it is suggested that it would be wise to replace 67/40 with a new preparation of human brain, both for this reason and because 67/40 is in a form (like Thrombotest) in which few workers seem to use human brain. A �plain� preparation would be more appropriate; and a freeze-dried sample of BCT is recommended as the successor preparation. The opportunity should be taken also to replace the corresponding ox and rabbit preparations. In the collaborative study which would be required it would then be desirable to test in parallel the three old and the three new preparations. The relative sensitivities of the old preparations could be compared with those found in earlier studies to obtain further evidence on the stability of 67/40; if stability were confirmed, the new preparations should be calibrated against it, but if not, the new human material should receive a calibration constant of 1.0 and the new ox and rabbit materials calibrated against that.The types of evidence available for monitoring the long-term stability of a thromboplastin are discussed.


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