Single-Event Burnout of SiC Junction Barrier Schottky Diode High-Voltage Power Devices

Ion-induced degradation and catastrophic failures in high-voltage SiC junction barrier Schottky power diodes are investigated. The experimental results agree with earlier data showing discrete jumps in leakage current for individual ions and show that the boundary between leakage current degradation and a single-event-burnout-like effect is a strong function of linear energy transfer and reverse bias. TCAD simulations show high localized electric fields under the Schottky junction, and high temperatures generated directly under the Schottky contact, consistent with the hypothesis that the ion energy causes eutectic-like intermixture at the metal-semiconductor interface or localized melting of the silicon carbide lattice.