Switching characteristics of silicon carbide power PiN diodes

Recent progress in Silicon Carbide (SIC) material has made it feasible to b uild power devices with reasonable current density. This paper will present recent results including a comparison with state of the art silicon diodes . The effect of diode reverse recovery on the turn-on losses bf a fast Si I GBT are studied both at room temperature and at 150 degrees C. At room temp erature, SiC diodes allow a reduction of IGBT turn on losses by as much as 6x and at 150 degrees C junction temperature SiC diodes allow a turn-on los s reduction of between 16x and 3x when compared to fast and ultra fast sili con diodes respectively. Total losses due to reverse diode recovery were re duced by as much as 10x at 25 degrees C and between 5x and 18x at 150 degre es C. The yield and I-V characteristics of these diodes are also described. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.