Articolo in rivista, 2020, ENG, 10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.1004.433

Nanoscale insights on the origin of the power mosfets breakdown after extremely long high temperature reverse bias stress

Fiorenza P.; Alessandrino M.; Carbone B.; Di Martino C.; Russo A.; Saggio M.; Venuto C.; Zanetti E.; Bongiorno C.; Giannazzo F.; Roccaforte F.

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi (CNR-IMM), Strada VIII, n.5 Zona Industriale, Catania, 95121, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi (CNR-IMM), Strada VIII, n.5 Zona Industriale, 95121, Catania, Italy, , , Italy; Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi (CNR-IMM), Strada VIII, n.5 Zona Industriale, Catania, 95121, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi (CNR-IMM), Strada VIII, n.5 Zona Industriale, 95121, Catania, Italy, , , Italy; STMicroelectronics, Stradale Primosole 50, Catania, 95121, STMicroelectronics, Stradale Primosole 50, 95121, Catania, Italy, , Italy

In this work, the origin of the dielectric breakdown of 4H-SiC power MOSFETs was studied at the nanoscale, analyzing devices that failed after extremely long (three months) of high temperature reverse bias (HTRB) stress. A one-to-one correspondence between the location of the breakdown event and a threading dislocation propagating through the epitaxial layer was found. Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) revealed the conductive nature of the threading dislocation and a local modification of the minority carriers concentration. Basing on these results, the role of the threading dislocation on the failure of 4H-SiC MOSFETs could be clarified.

Materials science forum 1004 MSF , pp. 433–438

Keywords

silicon carbide, MOSFET, threshold voltage instability

CNR authors

Bongiorno Corrado, Roccaforte Fabrizio, Giannazzo Filippo, Fiorenza Patrick

CNR institutes

IMM – Istituto per la microelettronica e microsistemi