ELECTRONICS

3.3 KV SiC Power Module with Low Switching Loss

Mitsuhiko SAKAI*, Shigenori TOYOSHIMA, Keiji WADA, Masaki FURUMAI,

Takashi TSUNO and Yasuki MIKAMURA

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Silicon Carbide (SiC) devices are promising candidates for high power, high speed, and high temperature switches owing to
their superior properties. We have been developing SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) and
SiC Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) of 3.3-kilovolt class. The fabricated SiC power module successfully reduced switching
losses to one-third to that of the conventional Si IGBT module. This paper evaluates the performance of a full SiC module
compared to the conventional one.
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Keywords: high voltage, low switching loss, SiC MOSFET, SiC SBD, SiC power module

1. Introduction 2. Structure and Fabrication of 3.3-kilovolt Class

Due to the rise of consumers’ electric bills and a
SiC Devices
shortage of electric energy, a major crisis awaits. In 2-1 Structure and fabrication of MOSFETs
2010, the world average ratio of electrical energy Figure 1 shows the carrier concentration and the
consumption to a total of all energy consumption was thickness of epitaxial growth film to fabricate SiC
about 20%, and this ratio is expected to increase rapidly MOSFETs and SBDs. The target of carrier concentration
in the future. Therefore, the power converter is required was 3.0 × 1015 cm-3 and the film thickness was 30 µm.
to exhibit high conversion efficiency. The power The uniformity of carrier concentration and film thick-
converter consists of power semiconductor devices ness within a whole wafer were less than 3% by
(power devices). Power devices are being developed maximum – minimum.
while compatibly attaining high voltage and low power Figure 2 shows the schematic cross-sectional view
loss. The realization of high-performance power devices of 3.3-kilovolt class MOSFETs. SiC epitaxial layer was
will lead not only to enormous energy savings but also grown on a 4° off-axis n-type 4H-SiC (0001) substrate
to the movement away from fossil fuels and the reduc- by chemical vapor deposition. A guard ring termination
tion of environmental pollution. was adopted for the edge.
Silicon (Si) has been the most commonly used
semiconductor for power devices, and it has been
significantly improved through the development of
metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors Y

(MOSFETs), insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) 4

and fast recovery diodes (FRDs).
Carrier concentration

IF X

However, now that Si power device technology is

(x1015 cm-3)

relatively mature, it is difficult to achieve innovative OF

breakthroughs using present technology. Finally, silicon 3

carbide (SiC) with wide bandgap seems promising for
Y
use in advanced power devices because of its superior
X
physical properties. SiC has superior properties
compared to Si, such as higher critical electric field 2
strength, higher saturation drift velocity, and higher -75 -50 -25 0 25 50 75
thermal conductivity.( 1 ), (2) Now, SiC is making advance- Position in wafer diameter (mm)

ments into new markets such as power conditioners for 40

solar power and railroad vehicles.(3)
Thickness (µm)

We have been developing a SiC power device (4)-(8) 35

as well as 3.3-kilovolt class MOSFETs and Schottky
barrier diodes (SBDs). In this paper, we evaluate the 30

performance of a full SiC module compared to a

25 Y
conventional Si IGBT module.
X
20
-75 -50 -25 0 25 50 75
Position in wafer diameter (mm)

Fig. 1. Uniformity of carrier concentration and thickness of

epitaxial layer

SEI TECHNICAL REVIEW · NUMBER 81 · OCTOBER 2015 · 51

 Source deposited. The SiC substrate was thinned by grinding.
Gate Then a cathode electrode was deposited, and it formed
p+ n+
ohmic contact by a laser anneal. Die size is 6 mm square.
n+ p+ ・・・
p-well

JFET region Guard ring

3. Characterization of 3.3-Kilovolt Class
SiC Devices
Epitaxial layer:
3.0 × 1015cm-3, 30 μm 3-1 Characterization of MOSFETs
Field stop layer Figure 4 shows the on-state forward I D-V DS charac-
4H-SiC(0001) substrate
teristics of the 3.3-kilovolt class SiC MOSFET. The
specific on-resistance with respect to the active area
Drain
size was estimated to be 14.2 mΩcm2 (V GS = 15 V, V DS = 2
V) at room temperature. Figure 5 shows the blocking
Fig. 2. Schematic cross-sectional view of MOSFET
characteristics. The blocking voltage is approximately
3850 V. Figures 6 and 7 show the time dependence of
the threshold voltage shift ( ΔVth).
Fig. 6 shows the time dependence of positive gate
Guard rings were p regions and formed by an ion bias, and Fig. 7 shows the negative one. A number of
implantation. Channel and source regions were similar. 22 dies are tested. Both results show that the shift of
In addition, ion implantation to the junction field-effect threshold voltage is within the range of ± 0.2 V at high
transistor regions was introduced to improve the temperature for 1000 hours. This means that our
on-resistance of MOSFETs. The ion implantation was MOSFETs are derived from the low trap density at the
carried out at 500°C, then an activated anneal was SiO2/SiC interfaces.(8)
done at 1800°C. Gate oxide was thermally grown,
followed by nitridation and post oxidation annealing,
resulting in an oxide thickness of about 50 nm. Then a 35
TiAlSi source electrode was fabricated. Next, an Al elec- VGS = 18 V 15 V

trode was deposited and covered by passivation film. 30

Finally, a SiC substrate was thinned by grinding. Some 12 V

Drain Current (A)

25
metals were deposited on the backside of the thinned
substrate. Then a drain contact was fabricated by a 20
laser anneal. Channel length is 0.8 µm and die size is 6 9V
15
mm square.
2-2 Structure and fabrication of SBDs 10
Figure 3 shows the schematic cross-sectional view
of 3.3-kilovolt class SBDs. SiC epitaxial layer was grown 5 6V

on a 4° off-axis n-type 4H-SiC (0001) substrate by chem- 0 V, 3 V

0
ical vapor deposition. Junction barrier Schottky (JBS) 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
structure was adopted. A guard ring termination for the Drain to Source Voltage (V)
edge was applied. This structure follows that of MOSFETs.
JBS and guard rings were fabricated by an ion implanta- Fig. 4. Forward I D-V D characteristics of MOSFET
tion and activated anneal, and then anode electrode was

1.0

0.9
Anode
Leakage Current (μA)

Schottky contact 0.8

p+ p+ p+ p+ p+ 0.7
・・・
0.6

0.5
Guard ring
0.4

0.3
Epitaxial layer:
3.0 × 1015cm-3, 30 μm 0.2

Field stop layer 0.1

0.0
4H-SiC(0001) substrate
0 1000 2000 3000 4000
Cathode Drain to Source Voltage (V)

Fig. 3. Schematic cross-sectional view of SBD Fig. 5. Blocking voltage characteristics

52 · 3.3 kV SiC Power Module with Low Switching Loss

 1.0 90

0.8 80

0.6 70

Leakage Current (μA)

0.4 60
0.2 50
⊿Vth(V)

0.0 175°C
40
-0.2
30
-0.4
20
-0.6
10
-0.8 25°C
0
-1.0 0 1000 2000 3000
0 200 400 600 800 1000 Reverse Voltage (V)

Time (h)
Fig. 9. Reverse I -V characteristics of SBD
Fig. 6. Time dependence of the threshold voltage shift at
positive V GS of 20 V

10-3

1.0

0.8

Leakage current (A)

at 3,300V, 25℃
0.6 10-4

0.4

0.2
⊿Vth (V)

0.0 10-5
-0.2

-0.4

-0.6 10-6
0 200 400 600 800 1000
-0.8

-1.0 Time (h)

0 200 400 600 800 1000
Time (h) Fig. 10. High temperature reverse bias test

Fig. 7. Time dependence of the threshold voltage shift at

negative V GS of -10 V

structure with partial p+ regions under the Schottky

contact is formed, sufficiently suppressing the leakage
3-2 Characterization of SBDs current even at the elevated temperature of 175°C, as
Figures 8 and 9 indicate the forward and reverse well as the well-designed edge termination.(9) Figure 10
I -V characteristics of a 3.3-kilovolt class SBD measured shows the reverse bias test at a high temperature. A
under the temperature range of 25°C to 175°C. The JBS number of 22 dies were tested with reverse 3000 V at
150°C. No dies were broken for 1000 hours.

30
4. Characterization of 3.3-Kilovolt Class
25
25°C
SiC Module
20 4-1 Fabrication of module and estimation of static
Current (A)

characteristics
15 By using the 3.3 kV MOSFETs and SBDs with multi
parallel setup, we fabricated a 3.3 kV 400 A full SiC 2 in 1
10 module and evaluated the static characteristics. Figure 11
175°C shows the appearance of a SiC module. Figure 12 shows
5
the forward I -V characteristics at V GS of 5 V, 10 V, 15 V,
0
and 20 V at room temperature. Figure 13 shows the I-V
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 characteristics at V GS of 0 V. The solid line is our full SiC
Forward Voltage (V) module, and the dashed line is a conventional IGBT one.
As shown in Fig. 12, the I -V characteristics of MOSFET
Fig. 8. Forward I -V characteristics of SBD are different from IGBT because MOSFET can drive a

SEI TECHNICAL REVIEW · NUMBER 81 · OCTOBER 2015 · 53

large current at a low drive voltage. Accordingly, this Table 1. Module characteristics of SiC MOSFET and Si IGBT
current flows linearly at a low voltage field and we
On-resistance On-voltage
obtained a low on-resistance below 400 A of rated Module
(mΩ) (V)
current. Fig. 13 shows the current at V GS of 0 V for
SiC MOSFET 6.0 2.3
applying from source to drain. It shows the characteris-
tics of SBDs in this setup. On-resistance of SBDs is Si IGBT 8.5 2.8
lower than that of conventional ones. Table 1 is a list of Measurement condition of transistor
the on-resistance of transistors and diodes at 400 A. V GS = 15 V, I = 400 A
Measurement condition of diode
V GS = 0 V, I = 400 A

4-2 Estimation of dynamic characteristics

38 mm
Figure 14 shows the evaluation circuit of a SiC
MOSFET module. We have investigated by using an
inductive load switching measurement at a high drain
voltage of 1650 V with a drain current of 400 A. The gate
voltage range was applied from -5 V to 15 V. The gate-
resistor in between the gate terminal and the driver IC is
2.2Ω . A 100 µH inductance was used. The test environ-
ment was room temperature. Figure 15 shows the
switching waveforms of turn-on, and Figure 16 shows
Fig. 1 1. 3.3 kV 400 A full SiC module the switching waveforms of turn-off.
Table 2 shows the 3 kinds of switching losses:
turn-on loss (E on), turn-off loss (E off), recovery loss (E rr).
VGS = 15 V Si IGBT
400
VGE = 15 V
VGS= 20 V
350
SiC VGS = 10 V L = 100 μH
300

250
I (A)

200 -5 V

150
ID
100 15 V
RG = 2.2Ω VDD = 1650 V

50 VDS
VGS= 5 V
0 -5 V
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 VGS

V (V) Pulse
Generator Module

Fig. 12. Forward I -V characteristics with a positive V GS

Fig. 14. Evaluation circuit of SiC MOSFET module

400

350
IGBT
300

250 SiC 1 μs
I (A)

V
200 SiC
Si IGBT
150

100 400 A
1000 V
50

0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 I

V (V)

Fig. 13. Forward I -V characteristics with VGS of 0 V Fig. 15. Switching waveforms of turn-on

54 · 3.3 kV SiC Power Module with Low Switching Loss

 (6) K. Wada et al., Proc. 1st Advanced power devices, pp. 172–173
IGBT (Nov. 2014)
(7) T. Masuda et al., “A Novel Truncated V-groove 4H-SiC
MOSFET with High Avalanche Breakdown Voltage and Low
Specific On-resistance,” The International Conference on
SiC Silicon Carbide and Related Materials, Vol. 778–780, part 2, pp.
907–910, Miyazaki, Japan (Oct. 2013)
(8) T. Hiyoshi et al., “SiC High Channel Mobility MOSFET,” SEI
I 400 A 1 μs
Technical Review, No.77, pp. 122-126 (Oct. 2013)
1000 V (9) K. Wada et al., “Static and Dynamic Characteristics of SiC
MOSFETs and SBDs for 3.3kV 400A Full SiC Modules,” Euro-
V pean Conference on Silicon Carbide & Related Materials, vol.
821–823, pp. 592–595, Grenoble, France (Sept. 2014)

Fig. 16. Switching waveforms of turn-off

Table 2. Switching losses of SiC MOSFET and Si IGBT module

Contributors (The lead author is indicated by an asterisk (*).)
Module E on E off E rr E total
SiC MOSFET 1 93 58 15 226 M. SAKAI*
Si IGBT 524 1 86 96 805 • Assistant General Manager, Power Device
Measurement condition Development Division
V DD = 1650 V, I D = 400 A
V GS = -5 V/+15 V, R G = 2.2Ω, L = 100 µH

S. TOYOSHIMA
IGBT generates the high recovery loss because of the • Power Device Development Division
reverse peak current (I rr) and reverse recovery time (T rr)
of Si FRD. In contrast, SiC SBD decreases that loss
because of the very low I rr and T rr. E on decreases for
same reason. IGBT has the high E off due to the tail K. WADA
current. Opposed to this, MOSFET has no tail current in
• Assistant General Manager, Power Device
principle and E off was decreased. Due to these reasons,
Development Division
the fabricated SiC power module successfully reduced
switching losses (E total) to one-third of the conventional
IGBT module.
M. FURUMAI
• Group Manager, Power Device Development
Division
5. Conclusion
We developed SiC MOSFETs and SiC SBDs of
3.3-kilovolt class. The fabricated SiC module has low
on-resistance and low switching losses to one-third T. TSUNO
compared to the conventional IGBT. • Doctor of Science
Group Manager, Power Device Development
Division

References
(1) T. Kimoto, J. A. Cooper, “Fundamentals of Silicon Carbide Y. MIKAMURA
Technology,” pp. 1–6 (2014)
• Manager, Power Device Development
(2) B. J. Baliga, “Fundamentals of Power Semiconductor Device,”
Division
pp. 1–3 (2008)
(3) News release, “Mitsubishi Electric to Supply Railcar Traction
Inverter with All-SiC Power Module to Odakyu Electric Railway,”
URL http://www.mitsubishielectric.com/news/2014/0430.
html
(4) R. Kimura, K. Uchida, T. Hiyoshi, M. Sakai, K. Wada and
Y. Mikamura, “SiC High Blocking Voltage Transistor,” SEI
Technical Review, No. 183, pp. 125–129 (Jul. 2013)
(5) S. Toyoshima, S. Hatsukawa, N. Hirakata, T. Tsuno and
Y. Mikamura, “Compact SiC Power Module for High Speed
Switching,” SEI Technical Review, No. 186, pp. 75–78 (Jan.
2015)

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