Avalanche Energy of High-Voltage Silicon and SiC Power Diodes

Unlike silicon Merged PiN Schottky (MPS) power diodes, commercial 4H-SiC Junction Barrier-controlled Schottky (JBS) power diodes contain an abundance of threading screw dislocations (TSDs) and threading edge dislocations (TEDs). It is not clear exactly how these crystal defects manifest on the performance and reliability of high-voltage power devices. In this paper, extensive avalanche energy measurements will be used to develop a deeper understanding of the role that crystal defects play on device reliability when switching high currents under high-voltage stress conditions.