The influence of the semiconductor and dielectric properties on surface flashover in silicon-dielectric systems

Author

Gradinaru, G. ; Madangarli, V.P. ; Sudarshan, T.S.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., South Carolina Univ., Columbia, SC, USA

Volume

41

Issue

7

fYear

1994

fDate

7/1/1994 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1233

Lastpage

1238

Abstract

New experimental results on surface flashover are reported for high field silicon-dielectric systems. Different conditions of the lateral surface, contacts and ambient dielectrics have been studied. The strong influence of the semiconductor quality, and that of the dielectric properties, on the prebreakdown and breakdown response of the system, is demonstrated. All experimental results strongly support the conclusion that surface flashover in silicon systems is a physical process totally different from semiconductor surface breakdown. This conclusion has important practical application in the improvement of the performance of photoconductive power switches, severely limited by premature breakdown effects

Keywords

electric breakdown of solids; flashover; photoconducting devices; pulsed power technology; semiconductor switches; semiconductor-insulator boundaries; silicon; surface discharges; ambient dielectrics; breakdown response; dielectric properties; lateral surface; photoconductive power switches; prebreakdown response; pulsed power electronics; semiconductor properties; semiconductor quality; silicon-dielectric systems; surface flashover; Breakdown voltage; Dielectric breakdown; Electric breakdown; Flashover; Gallium arsenide; Semiconductor device breakdown; Semiconductor lasers; Semiconductor materials; Silicon; Surface discharges;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9383

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/16.293353

Filename

293353