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Electronics
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Electrical Characterization of Wide Bandgap Devices for Modern Power Electronics
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Electrical Characterization of Wide Bandgap Devices for Modern Power Electronics

A special issue of Electronics (ISSN 2079-9292). This special issue belongs to the section "Power Electronics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 25443

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Fortunato Pezzimenti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Information Engineering, Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Via Salita Melissari, 89124 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Interests: power electronics; wide-bandgap semiconductors; energy systems; semiconductor device modelling; device physics; TCAD simulations
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The design and characterization of wide-bandgap (WBG) devices for modern power electronics, to be used especially in high-voltage/high-frequency/high-temperature applications, require intensive experimental and modelling efforts for the analysis of the critical aspects of their operation under specific bias conditions. In recent years, for instance, silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) have been extensively investigated. These semiconductors, if compared to the conventional Si and GaAs technologies, promise the realization of smaller, faster, and more efficient and rugged devices well-suited for different fields that involve both power generation and power conversion processes, such as renewable energy systems and electrical traction drivers. However, several technological issues must be resolved in order to make the realization of WBG devices more cost-effective.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect research papers concerned with the superior electrical characteristics of WBG devices able to improve the current and future power electronics. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

- Application areas of WBG materials;

- Power switch converters;

- Power optimizers;

- Photovoltaic module-level systems;

- SiC- and GaN-based devices;

- Heterojunction structures;

- Relevant experimental results;

- Advanced technological processes;

- Analysis of a semiconductor’s physical properties; and

- Novel design and modelling approaches.

Dr. Fortunato Pezzimenti
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Electronics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Power converter
  • switching device
  • wide bandgap
  • field-effect transistor
  • diode
  • breakdown voltage
  • series resistance
  • doping profile, temperature
  • numerical simulation.

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 2695 KiB  
Article
Temperature Dependent Analytical Model for the Threshold Voltage of the SiC VJFET with a Lateral Asymmetric Channel
by Sami Ghedira, Abdelaali Fargi and Kamel Besbes
Electronics 2021, 10(12), 1494; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/electronics10121494 - 21 Jun 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1872
Abstract
The wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices for modern power electronics require intensive efforts for the analysis of the critical aspects of their operation. In recent years, silicon carbide (SiC) based field effect transistor have been extensively investigated. Motivated by the significant employment of the [...] Read more.
The wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices for modern power electronics require intensive efforts for the analysis of the critical aspects of their operation. In recent years, silicon carbide (SiC) based field effect transistor have been extensively investigated. Motivated by the significant employment of the SiC Vertical Junction Field Effect transistors with lateral channel (LC-VJFET) in the development of high-voltage and high temperature applications, the properties of the LC-VJFET device are investigated in this work. The most important normally-ON LC-VJFET parameter is their threshold voltage (VTh), which is defined as the gate-to-source voltage necessary to block the device. The higher complexity of the blocking operation of the normally-ON device makes the accurate knowledge of the VTh as a fundamental issue. In this paper, a temperature dependent analytical model for the threshold voltage of the normally-ON LC-VJFET is developed. This analytical model is derived based on a numerical analysis of the electrical potential distribution along the asymmetrical lateral channel in the blocking operation. To validate our model, the analytical results are compared to 2D numerical simulations and experimental results for a wide temperature range. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrical Characterization of Wide Bandgap Devices for Modern Power Electronics)
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16 pages, 4844 KiB  
Article
Study and Assessment of Defect and Trap Effects on the Current Capabilities of a 4H-SiC-Based Power MOSFET
by Fortunato Pezzimenti, Hichem Bencherif, Giuseppe De Martino, Lakhdar Dehimi, Riccardo Carotenuto, Massimo Merenda and Francesco G. Della Corte
Electronics 2021, 10(6), 735; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/electronics10060735 - 19 Mar 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3007
Abstract
A numerical simulation study accounting for trap and defect effects on the current-voltage characteristics of a 4H-SiC-based power metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) is performed in a wide range of temperatures and bias conditions. In particular, the most penalizing native defects in the [...] Read more.
A numerical simulation study accounting for trap and defect effects on the current-voltage characteristics of a 4H-SiC-based power metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) is performed in a wide range of temperatures and bias conditions. In particular, the most penalizing native defects in the starting substrate (i.e., EH6/7 and Z1/2) as well as the fixed oxide trap concentration and the density of states (DoS) at the 4H-SiC/SiO2 interface are carefully taken into account. The temperature-dependent physics of the interface traps are considered in detail. Scattering phenomena related to the joint contribution of defects and traps shift the MOSFET threshold voltage, reduce the channel mobility, and penalize the device current capabilities. However, while the MOSFET on-state resistance (RON) tends to increase with scattering centers, the sensitivity of the drain current to the temperature decreases especially when the device is operating at a high gate voltage (VGS). Assuming the temperature ranges from 300 K to 573 K, RON is about 2.5 MΩ·µm2 for VGS > 16 V with a percentage variation ΔRON lower than 20%. The device is rated to perform a blocking voltage of 650 V. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrical Characterization of Wide Bandgap Devices for Modern Power Electronics)
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26 pages, 818 KiB  
Article
Role of Wide Bandgap Materials in Power Electronics for Smart Grids Applications
by Javier Ballestín-Fuertes, Jesús Muñoz-Cruzado-Alba, José F. Sanz-Osorio and Erika Laporta-Puyal
Electronics 2021, 10(6), 677; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/electronics10060677 - 13 Mar 2021
Cited by 57 | Viewed by 6926
Abstract
At present, the energy transition is leading to the replacement of large thermal power plants by distributed renewable generation and the introduction of different assets. Consequently, a massive deployment of power electronics is expected. A particular case will be the devices destined for [...] Read more.
At present, the energy transition is leading to the replacement of large thermal power plants by distributed renewable generation and the introduction of different assets. Consequently, a massive deployment of power electronics is expected. A particular case will be the devices destined for urban environments and smart grids. Indeed, such applications have some features that make wide bandgap (WBG) materials particularly relevant. This paper analyzes the most important features expected by future smart applications from which the characteristics that their power semiconductors must perform can be deduced. Following, not only the characteristics and theoretical limits of wide bandgap materials already available on the market (SiC and GaN) have been analyzed, but also those currently being researched as promising future alternatives (Ga2O3, AlN, etc.). Finally, wide bandgap materials are compared under the needs determined by the smart applications, determining the best suited to them. We conclude that, although SiC and GaN are currently the only WBG materials available on the semiconductor portfolio, they may be displaced by others such as Ga2O3 in the near future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrical Characterization of Wide Bandgap Devices for Modern Power Electronics)
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9 pages, 1562 KiB  
Article
Investigation of Electrical Contacts to p-Grid in SiC Power Devices Based on Charge Storage Effect and Dynamic Degradation
by Meng Zhang, Baikui Li, Mengyuan Hua and Jin Wei
Electronics 2020, 9(10), 1723; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/electronics9101723 - 19 Oct 2020
Viewed by 2508
Abstract
P-grid is a typical feature in power devices to block high off-state voltage. In power devices, the p-grid is routinely coupled to an external electrode with an Ohmic contact, but Schottky contact to the p-grid is also proposed/adopted for certain purposes. This work [...] Read more.
P-grid is a typical feature in power devices to block high off-state voltage. In power devices, the p-grid is routinely coupled to an external electrode with an Ohmic contact, but Schottky contact to the p-grid is also proposed/adopted for certain purposes. This work investigates the role of contact to p-grid in power devices based on the commonly adopted technology computer-aided design (TCAD) device simulations, with the silicon carbide (SiC) junction barrier Schottky (JBS) diode as a case study. The static characteristics of the JBS diode is independent of the nature of the contact to p-grid, including the forward voltage drop (VF) and the breakdown voltage (BV). However, during the switching process, a Schottky contact would cause storage of negative charges in the p-grid, which leads to an increased VF during switching operation. On the contrary, an Ohmic contact provides an effective discharging path for the stored negative charges in the p-grid, which eliminates the dynamic degradation issues. Therefore, the necessity of an Ohmic contact to p-grid in power devices is clarified. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrical Characterization of Wide Bandgap Devices for Modern Power Electronics)
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11 pages, 3011 KiB  
Article
Gate Current and Snapback of 4H-SiC Thyristors on N+ Substrate for Power-Switching Applications
by Hojun Lee, Ogyun Seok, Taeeun Kim and Min-Woo Ha
Electronics 2020, 9(2), 332; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/electronics9020332 - 15 Feb 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3571
Abstract
High-power switching applications, such as thyristor valves in a high-voltage direct current converter, can use 4H-SiC. The numerical simulation of the 4H-SiC devices requires specialized models and parameters. Here, we present a numerical simulation of the 4H-SiC thyristor on an N+ substrate gate [...] Read more.
High-power switching applications, such as thyristor valves in a high-voltage direct current converter, can use 4H-SiC. The numerical simulation of the 4H-SiC devices requires specialized models and parameters. Here, we present a numerical simulation of the 4H-SiC thyristor on an N+ substrate gate current during the turn-on process. The base-emitter current of the PNP bipolar junction transistor (BJT) flow by adjusting the gate potential. This current eventually activated a regenerative action of the thyristor. The increase of the gate current from P+ anode to N+ gate also decreased the snapback voltage and forward voltage drop (Vf). When the doping concentration of the P-drift region increased, Vf decreased due to the reduced resistance of a low P-drift doping. An increase in the P buffer doping concentration increased Vf owing to enhanced recombination at the base of the NPN BJT. There is a tradeoff between the breakdown voltage and forward characteristics. The breakdown voltage is increased with a decrease in concentration, and an increase in drift layer thickness occurs due to the extended depletion region and reduced peak electric field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrical Characterization of Wide Bandgap Devices for Modern Power Electronics)
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15 pages, 7912 KiB  
Article
A Digital-Controlled SiC-Based Solid State Circuit Breaker with Soft Switch-Off Method for DC Power System
by Haihong Qin, Yubin Mo, Qian Xun, Ying Zhang and Yaowen Dong
Electronics 2019, 8(8), 837; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/electronics8080837 - 26 Jul 2019
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6488
Abstract
Due to the lower on-state resistance, direct current (DC) solid state circuit breakers (SSCBs) based on silicon-carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) can reduce on-state losses and the investment of the cooling system when compared to breakers based on silicon (Si) MOSFETs. However, [...] Read more.
Due to the lower on-state resistance, direct current (DC) solid state circuit breakers (SSCBs) based on silicon-carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) can reduce on-state losses and the investment of the cooling system when compared to breakers based on silicon (Si) MOSFETs. However, SiC MOSFETs, with smaller die area and higher current density, lead to weaker short-circuit ability, shorter short-circuit withstand time and higher protection requirements. To improve the reliability and short-circuit capability of SiC-based DC solid state circuit breakers, the short-circuit fault mechanisms of Si MOSFETs and SiC MOSFETs are revealed. Combined with the desaturation detection (DESAT), a “soft turn-off” short-circuit protection method based on source parasitic inductor is proposed. When the DESAT protection is activated, the “soft turn-off” method can protect the MOSFET against short-circuit and overcurrent. The proposed SSCB, combined with the flexibility of the DSP, has the μs-scale ultrafast response time to overcurrent detection. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by the experimental platform. The method can reduce the voltage stress of the power device, and it can also suppress the short-circuit current. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrical Characterization of Wide Bandgap Devices for Modern Power Electronics)
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