In this letter we report on the fabrication and initial electrical cha
racterization of the first silicon carbide diodes to demonstrate recti
fication to reverse voltages in excess of 2000 V at room temperature.
The mesa structured 6H-SiC p + n junction diodes were fabricated in 6H
-SiC epilayers grown by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition
on commercially available 6H-SiC wafers. The devices were characteriz
ed while immersed in Fluorinert(TM) to prevent arcing which occurs whe
n air breaks down under high electric fields. The simple nonoptimized
diodes, whose device areas ranged from 7 x 10(-6) to 4 x 10(-4) cm2, e
xhibited a 2000 V functional device yield in excess of 50%.