Recent progress in 3.3 kV SiC diodes

The electrical performance of 3.3 kV SiC Schottky, JBS and PiN diodes are compared. In forward mode, the 25 mm2 Schottky exhibits better performances than the 2.6 mm2 JBS and PiN diodes. On the other hand, due its very large active area, the Schottky diode show a leakage current of 1 mA, which is 100× and 1000× higher than that of the JBS and PiN diodes, respectively. In switching mode, the Schottky and JBS diodes show similar reverse current peaks (2 A at 300 °C), whereas it is 5× higher for the PiN diode. Concerning the surge current capability, the three diodes present similar surge current capability (around 55 A) at 25 °C. At 225 °C, we have observed a 50% decrease in the surge current of the Schottky diode whereas it is almost the same for the PiN and JBS diodes.