Breakdown characteristics of 12–20 kV-class 4H-SiC PiN diodes with improved junction termination structures

Ultrahigh-voltage 4H-SiC PiN diodes with improved junction termination extension (JTE) structures have been investigated. Breakdown characteristics of 4H-SiC PiN diodes with conventional single-zone JTE was shown to be severely affected by the charge near the SiO₂/SiC interface from experiment and device simulation. Taking the effect of the interface charge into account, and by using “Space-Modulated” JTE structure with a wide optimum JTE-dose window to tolerate the impact of interface charge, we achieved a breakdown voltage of 21.7 kV (81 % of the ideal breakdown voltage calculated from the epilayer structure), which is the highest breakdown voltage among any semiconductor devices ever reported.