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 an increase (degradation) in series resistance ([R.sub.s]), 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. Index Terms--Diode, junction barrier Schottky (JBS), proton radiation, Schottky barrier diodes (SBD), silicon carbide (SIC).