Investigation on gate oxide reliability under gate bias screening for commercial SiC planar and trench MOSFETs

Shi, Limeng; Qian, Jiashu; Jin, Michael; Bhattacharya, Monikuntala; Yu, Hengyu; Shimbori, Atsushi; White, Marvin H.; Agarwal, Anant K.

doi:10.1016/j.mssp.2024.108194

Investigation on gate oxide reliability under gate bias screening for commercial SiC planar and trench MOSFETs

Journal Article · Tue Feb 06 23:00:00 EST 2024 · Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mssp.2024.108194· OSTI ID:2574397

Shi, Limeng ^[1]; Qian, Jiashu ^[1]; Jin, Michael ^[1]; Bhattacharya, Monikuntala ^[1]; Yu, Hengyu ^[1]; Shimbori, Atsushi ^[2]; White, Marvin H. ^[1]; Agarwal, Anant K. ^[1]

The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (United States)
Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, MI (United States)

This paper evaluates the impact of the fast high gate-voltage screening technique on gate oxide reliability of commercial 1.2 kV 4H-SiC power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) with planar and trench gate structures. The measurements are conducted on packaged devices with the intent that the results will be applicable to wafer-level screening. The threshold voltage (V_th) of SiC MOSFETs is measured before and after various screening treatments and recovery process. In addition, constant-voltage time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) measurements are performed on SiC MOSFETs to obtain the intrinsic lifetime of gate oxide. The objective of this study is to determine the optimal screening conditions and improve screening efficiency without degradation of gate oxide reliability, such as V_th shift and reduced oxide intrinsic lifetime. Due to the differences in the gate oxidation process and structural design of SiC planar and trench MOSFETs, the two types of devices exhibit different oxide reliability in the screening process. The recommended screening conditions obtained in this paper reveal that SiC trench MOSFETs can accept higher screening voltages compared to SiC planar MOSFETs. Hence, it can be concluded that more efficient screening techniques can be adopted for SiC MOSFETs with thicker gate oxide to meet the requirements of industrial applications.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0008709

OSTI ID:: 2574397

Journal Information:: Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, Journal Name: Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing Vol. 174; ISSN 1369-8001

Publisher:: Elsevier BVCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Early failures
Gate oxide reliability
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Planar and trench

Investigation on gate oxide reliability under gate bias screening for commercial SiC planar and trench MOSFETs

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