Speaker
Description
Bio:
Arijit Sengupta is a 3rd year Doctoral Student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, USA. His research interests include experimental analysis of radiation effects in power semiconductor devices. At present, he is part of the Vanderbilt team working on the Lunar Surface Technology Research (LuSTR) project from NASA, which focuses on the design and analysis of single-event effects immune Silicon Carbide (SiC) diodes and MOSFETs. He had previously obtained his Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University at Albany, SUNY in Albany, NY, USA, and Bachelor of Technology from Heritage Institute of Technology, Kolkata, India.
Abstract:
Silicon carbide (SiC) power metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) and diodes are deemed ready for the space environment in terms of typical reliability and performance measures. However, single-event effects (SEE) due to heavy-ion irradiation often occurs at volt-ages 50% or lower than the rated breakdown voltage, which limits its usage. This research project focuses on the experimental study of SEE in SiC Power MOSFETs and Junction Barrier Schottky (JBS) diodes to understand how SiC power device structure affects single-event burnout (SEB) and single event leakage current (SELC). Experimental data from heavy-ion testing at Vanderbilt University Pelletron and Texas A&M University Cyclotron as well as modelling data from Technology CAD (TCAD) simulation indicate that a common mechanism exists for single-event burnout (SEB) as well as single-event leakage current (SELC) degradation in both MOSFETs and diodes and is based on ion-induced, localized power density induced by the ion strike. Previous research has shown that the mechanism of SEB in SiC devices is an electric field collapse that behaves something like a short circuit between the body and the drain contact. Results from the recent experimental and simulated heavy-ion responses indicate that ions having range less than the epitaxial thickness do not cause degradation or catastrophic failure, even above the rated breakdown voltage as these low energy, low-range ions are unable to penetrate the entire epitaxial depth to produce the effective short between the drain and source of the device. In the proposed paper, we describe the results so far of a joint effort by NASA, Vanderbilt, and General Electric to characterize the SEE response of existing GE 3.3 kV and 4.5 kV SiC power devices with respect to ion energy and off state bias, and the design of new hybrid devices that are intended to be SEB-immune, but also preserve most of the desirable electrical characteristics of SiC devices. The project is part of the NASA Lunar Surface Technology and Research (LuSTR) program, launched in 2021, to close technology gaps that hinder the exploration and development of the moon, and to support the development of high-voltage, high-power power systems such as micro-grids, highly capable rovers, and human habitation and transport systems in the lunar environment.