High-temperature silicon carbide: characterization of state-of-the-art silicon carbide power transistors

Abstract

For several decades, silicon (Si) has been the primary semiconductor choice for power electronic devices. During this time, the development and fabrication of Si devices has been optimized, which, in combination with the large abundance of material, has resulted in high manufacturing capability and extremely low costs. However, Si is approaching its limits in power conversion [1], [2]; improved efficiency, reduced size, and lower overall system cost can now be achieved by replacing Si devices with wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductors [1]?[3].