Calibration of 4H-SiC TCAD Models and Material Parameters

There is a great deal of interest in silicon carbide (SiC) as an electronics material for high-voltage, high-power and high-temperature applications. Device simulation using Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) tools has proven to be an especially valuable tool in the study of SiC devices due to the inherent difficulties that exist in fabricating samples and the enormous cost of substrates. It is important to employ accurate TCAD models and material parameters to ensure credible and meaningful simulation results. This paper provides details of a calibration exercise of 4H-SiC TCAD models and parameters against published data. A Ti/4H-SiC Schottky Barrier Diode (SBD) reported in the literature was modeled and simulated using the Silvaco commercial TCAD simulation tool. The simulated IV characteristic was compared to the published data. The models and parameters were fine-tuned to produce a better fit. The exercise was extended from 300 K to 400 K and 473 K. After fine-tuning, there is excellent agreement between the simulated and published data. A modified Norde function was used to extract various device parameters like the ideality factor, barrier height, and the Richardson Constant for electrons. The extracted values showed good agreement with the published data.