Title :
SiC power-switching devices-the second electronics revolution?
Author :
Cooper, James A., Jr. ; Agarwal, Anant
Author_Institution :
Sch. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN, USA
fDate :
6/1/2002 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Silicon carbide (SiC) offers significant advantages for power-switching devices because the critical field for avalanche breakdown is about ten times higher than in silicon. SiC power devices have made remarkable progress in the past five years, demonstrating currents in excess of 100 A and blocking voltages in excess of 19000 V. In this paper we describe the latest progress in three classes of SiC devices: diodes (p-i-n and Schottky), transistors (junction field-effect transistor, metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor, and bipolar junction transistor), and thyristors (gate turn-off).
Keywords :
Schottky diodes; junction gate field effect transistors; p-i-n diodes; power MOSFET; power bipolar transistors; power field effect transistors; power semiconductor diodes; power semiconductor switches; silicon compounds; thyristors; wide band gap semiconductors; 100 A; 19000 V; Schottky diodes; SiC power-switching devices; avalanche breakdown critical field; bipolar junction transistor; blocking voltages; currents; gate turn-off thyristors; junction field-effect transistor; metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor; p-i-n diodes; Avalanche breakdown; FETs; MOSFETs; Prototypes; Schottky diodes; Semiconductor diodes; Semiconductor materials; Silicon carbide; Temperature; Thyristors;
Journal_Title :
Proceedings of the IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/JPROC.2002.1021561
