Silicon carbide power devices

Abstract

The more and more demanding requirements of the power device users bring the silicon technology very close to its own physical limits. Silicon carbide (SiC) appears today as the only semiconductor having the capability for significantly improving the ratings of major power components (such as high voltage Schottky rectifiers), indeed for creating novel devices for new applications. The choice of SiC comes from superior physical properties, an existing substrate commercialization, and an experimental confirmation of several potentialities (at high voltage, temperature, or frequency) via demonstrative prototypes. However, such a young technology still suffers from a too poor quality of the available basic materials, and from the fabrication step immaturity, delaying the SiC power electronics emergence.