SiC power device reliability

SiC power devices offer performance advantages over competing Si-based power devices, due to the wide bandgap and other key materials properties of 4H-SiC. For example, SiC can more easily be used to fabricate MOSFETs with very high voltage ratings (up to 10 kV), and with lower switching losses. The reliability of SiC power devices is excellent and has continued to improve due to continuing advancements in SiC substrate quality, epitaxial growth capabilities, and device processing. This has enabled the continually accelerating growth of SiC power device commercial adoption. This paper reviews the wear-out mechanisms and intrinsic reliability performance of power SiC devices as characterized by time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB), accelerated life test high temperature reverse bias (ALT-HTRB), terrestrial neutron exposure, and power cycling. This paper also reviews some of the known failure mechanisms that have been characterized and addressed through technological advances. Finally, we present field return data that demonstrates less than 5 FIT (fails per billion device hours) for commercially produced SiC MOSFETs and Schottky diodes, with over 2 trillion device field hours.