A 180 amp/4.5 kV 411-SiC PiN diode for high current power modules

Discrete 4H-SiC PiN diode chips have been developed for extremely high power handling applications. These diodes have a forward voltage of less than 3.2 V at 180 A (100 A/cm(2)) and are capable of blocking 4.5 kV with a reverse leakage current of less than one mu A. At 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm, these discrete 4H-SiC PiN diode chips have over two times the area of the previous largest discrete 4H-SiC power device. Furthermore, considerable progress has been made in achieving VF stability, as no measurable increase in VF was observed on a packaged diode following a 120 hour DC stress at 90 A. When switched from 180 A forward current at a dI/dt of 300 A/mu s, the diodes showed a peak reverse current of 50 A and a reverse recovery time of 320 us. These diodes demonstrate the outstanding capabilities of 4H-SiC power devices given state-of-the-art 4H-SiC substrates, epitaxy, device design, and processing.