Electrothermal Issues in 4H-SiC 600 V Schottky Diodes in Forward Mode: Experimental Characterization, Numerical Simulations and Analytical Modelling
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Irace, Andrea; d'Alessandro, Vincenzo; Breglio, Giovanni; Spirito, Paolo; Bricconi, Andrea; Carta, Rossano; Raffo, Diego; Merlin, Luigi
- Source
- Materials Science Forum; October 2006, Vol. 527 Issue: 1 p1151-1154, 4p
- Subject
- Language
- ISSN
- 02555476; 16629752
The electrothermal behavior of 4H-SiC 600 V Schottky diodes operated in forward mode is analyzed through numerical and analytically-based simulations. It is shown that the unexpected occurrence of voltage surges systematically detected in state-of-the-art devices is a thermally-induced effect due to the compound contribution of a) the negative temperature coefficient of the forward current at high voltages and b) the relatively high package-to-ambient thermal resistance. As a main result, it is demonstrated that the proposed approaches are suitable to accurately predict the value of a “critical” current density beyond which voltage surges may arise.