Impact of Proton Irradiation on the Static and Dynamic Characteristics of High-Voltage 4H-SiC JBS Switching Diodes.

The effects of proton irradiation on the static (dc) and dynamic (switching) performance of high-voltage.. 4H-SiC Junction Barrier Schottky (JBS) diodes are investigated for the first time. In contrast to that Observed on a high-voltage Si p - i -n diode control device; these sic JBS devices show a increase (degradation) in series resistance (Rs), a decrease (improvement) of reverse leakage current, and increase (improvement) in blocking voltage after high-fluence proton exposure. Measured breakdown voltages of post-irradiated SiC diodes `increase on average by about 200 V after irradiation. Dynamic reverse recovery transient measurements show good agreement, between the, various dc observations regarding differences between high-power SiC and Si diodes, and show that SiC JBS diodes are very effective in minimizing switching losses for high-power applications, even under high levels of radiation exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]