Long term stability of packaged SiC Schottky diodes in the -170°C/+280°C temperature range

We have developed SiC power Schottky diodes able to operate in the -170°C/+280°C temperature for the space mission BepiColombo. After a travel of 6 years, two satellites will be orbiting around Mercury during at least one year. The solar panels of the satellites will be exposed to a wide range thermal cycling stress (-170°C to +280°C). To target this application, we developed 5A/300V SiC Schottky diodes to be used as protection devices of the solar cells arrays. Both the front end and the back end technologies have been optimised. A diode selection methodology has been defined. The long term stability of packaged power SiC diodes in these temperature range and cycles is demonstrated.