Operation of Silicon Carbide BJTs Free from Bipolar Degradation

Abstract

The mechanisms of bipolar degradation in silicon carbide BJTs are investigated and identified. Bipolar degradation occurs as result of stacking fault (SF) growth within the low-doped collector region. A stacking fault blocks vertical current transport through the collector, driving the defective region into saturation. This results in considerable drop of emitter current gain if the BJT is run at a reasonably low collector-emitter bias. The base region does not play any significant role in bipolar degradation. Long-term stress tests have shown full stability of large-area high-power BJTs under minority carrier injection conditions provided the devices are fabricated using low Basal Plane Dislocation (BPD) material. However, an approximately 20% current gain compression is observed for the first 30-60 hours of burn-in under common emitter operation, which is related to instability of surface recombination in the passive base region.