Abstract
Neutron test campaigns on silicon (Si) and silicon carbide (SiC) power MOSFETs and IGBTs were conducted at the TRIGA (Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics) Mark II (Pavia, Italy) nuclear reactor and ChipIr-ISIS Neutron and Muon Source (Didcot, U.K.) facility. About 2000 power transistors made by STMicroelectronics were tested in all the experiments. Tests with thermal and fast neutrons (up to about 10 MeV) at the TRIGA Mark II reactor showed that single-event burnout (SEB) failures only occurred at voltages close to the rated drain-source voltage. Thermal neutrons did not induce SEB, nor degradation in the electrical parameters of the devices. SEB failures during testing at ChipIr with ultra-fast neutrons (1-800 MeV) were evaluated in terms of failure in time (FIT) versus derating voltage curves according to the JEP151 procedure of the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC). These curves, even if scaled with die size and avalanche voltage, were strongly linked to the technological processes of the devices, although a common trend was observed that highlighted commonalities among the failures of different types of MOSFETs. In both experiments, we observed only SEB failures without single-event gate rupture (SEGR) during the tests. None of the power devices that survived the neutron tests were degraded in their electrical performances. A study of the worst-case bias condition (gate and/or drain) during irradiation was performed.
Highlights
Since the first observation of single-event burnout (SEB) failure in power MOSFETs exposed to high energy neutrons [1], the hazard to the longevity of these devices due to cosmic radiation, which includes neutrons [2], with energies up to more than 1 GeV [3], has made accelerated neutron testing important
Power electronic devices that are vulnerable to terrestrial cosmic radiation, such as MOSFETs, IGBTs, and diodes with the minimum nominal blocking voltage of 300 V [18], are subject to accelerated neutron testing to estimate the failure in time (FIT) (1 FIT corresponding to on failure in 109 device-hours) parameter under different bias conditions [4,10,11,12,13,17]
We present the results of accelerated neutron tests on Si and silicon carbide (SiC) power MOSFETs and IGBTs, fabricated by STMicroelectronics with different technologies
Summary
Since the first observation of single-event burnout (SEB) failure in power MOSFETs exposed to high energy neutrons [1], the hazard to the longevity of these devices due to cosmic radiation, which includes neutrons [2], with energies up to more than 1 GeV [3], has made accelerated neutron testing important. Neutron lattice collisions produce recoil atoms or spallation products that create electron-hole pairs along its trajectory through the lattice These charge-plasmas may turn on the parasitic bipolar junction transistor, which leads the device from its normal off-state blocking voltage to its second breakdown state [16] or it settles in the sensitive volume of the device such as the epi/substrate junction [17]. Power electronic devices that are vulnerable to terrestrial cosmic radiation, such as MOSFETs, IGBTs, and diodes with the minimum nominal blocking voltage of 300 V [18], are subject to accelerated neutron testing to estimate the failure in time (FIT) (1 FIT corresponding to on failure in 109 device-hours) parameter under different bias conditions [4,10,11,12,13,17]. The impact of the negative gate voltage condition on the failure rate was investigated
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