Junction temperature measurement in optically-activated power MOSFET

The temperature-dependent optical properties of silicon carbide (SiC), such as refractive index and reflectivity, have been used for a direct monitoring of the junction temperature of a power MOSFET. In particular, the optical response of a 4H-SiC MOSFET-integrated Fabry-Perot cavity to temperature changes has been investigated through parametric optical simulations at the wavelength of λ=450 nm. The reflected optical power exhibited oscillatory patterns caused by the multiple beam interference for which the MOSFET epilayer, between the gate-oxide and the doped 4H-SiC substrate, acts as a Fabry-Perot etalon. These results were used to calculate the refractive index change and, therefore, the optical phase shift of ∆φ= π/2 corresponding to a temperature variation that can be considered as a warning for the device “health”. In practical applications, the periodic monitoring of the optic spectrum at the interferometric structure output gives an essential information about the device operating temperature condition that, for high power operations, may lead to device damages or system failure.

Research on Trench Etching and Photolithography Process of SiC Trench MOSFET

In this paper, the development of trench etching process and photolithography process for 6-inch 4H-SiC trench-type power MOSFET devices is mainly studied. Among them, the etching process successfully solved the anisotropy of dry etching of SiC, the different etching rates of different crystal planes, the difficulty of controlling the angle of the trench sidewall, and the easy formation of micro-trenches at the corners, etc. Successfully realized trenches with etch depth greater than 1.2um and sidewall angle greater than 90° in SiC. Subsequently, the trench was filled with SiO2 to achieve no holes in the trench after filling, and then the photolithography process was studied. Photolithography process is resolved at the trench coating, exposing and developing the non-uniformity problem, achieve a full and uniform coating, self-aligned trench overlay and the overlay accuracy of less than 0.1um, and there is no residue of photoresist in the groove after development. This article uses scanning electron microscope (SEM) to measure the morphology of the trench after etching and photolithography to characterize the experimental results, and the results meet the process requirements. The successful development of this process will facilitate the research and development of deeper trench-type power MOSFET devices.

High-Frequency Non-Invasive Magnetic Field-Based Condition Monitoring of SiC Power MOSFET Modules

Current distribution anomaly can be used to indicate the onset of package-related failures modes in Silicon Carbide power MOSFET modules. In this paper, we propose to obtain the wire bond’s magnetic field profile using an array of Tunnel Magneto-Resistance (TMR) sensors, and characterise the small changes in the current density distribution to find the onset of the wire bond degradation processes, including wire bond lift-off, wire bond cracking, and wire bond fracture. We propose a novel condition monitoring technique where a non-galvanic high-bandwidth sensing and a reliability model monitor the health of the power switches. We designed a dedicated calibration set-up to examine the sensor array and calibrated to demonstrate the adequate sensitivity to a minimum 5% current anomaly detection in a single wire bond of the switching devices operating with 50 kHz switching frequency. We use a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) experimental set-up to replicate wire bond-related failures in a 1200V/55A SiC MOSFET power module of a DC/DC Boost converter. Signal conditioning circuits are further designed to amplify and buffer the sensor readings. Experimental results showed the proposed technique is able to detect a wide range of package-related failures.