Terrestrial neutrons radiation tolerance for silicon carbide (SiC) power MOSFETs and diodes

Silicon Carbide (SiC) is a wide bandgap semiconductor of great interest for power devices used in various ground and avionic applications. SiC are also considered a promising technology for space and accelerators applications. However, SiC MOSFETs and diodes are sensitive to Single Event Burnout (SEB) failures when exposed to high energy neutrons, which crucially affect the reliability in the terrestrial environment. The SEB mechanism in SiC components is still an important topic of research. It was discussed that it is the same between SiC diodes and SiC MOSFETs and that it is different from the one in Si MOSFETs. Performing SEB testing of SiC components at the ChipIR beamline will provide important information on the atmospheric-like neutrons tolerance, allowing comparisons with the previous results from protons, heavy-ions and neutrons and important information on the SEB mechanism.