Positive Bias Temperature Instability in SiC-Based Power MOSFETs
Vladislav Volosov,
Santina Bevilacqua,
Laura Anoldo,
Giuseppe Tosto,
Enzo Fontana,
Alfio-lip Russo,
Claudio Fiegna,
Enrico Sangiorgi,
Andrea Natale Tallarico
Affiliations
Vladislav Volosov
Advanced Research Center on Electronic System, Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering, University of Bologna, 47522 Cesena, Italy
Santina Bevilacqua
STMicroelectronics, SRL, Stradale Primosole 50, 95121 Catania, Italy
Laura Anoldo
STMicroelectronics, SRL, Stradale Primosole 50, 95121 Catania, Italy
Giuseppe Tosto
STMicroelectronics, SRL, Stradale Primosole 50, 95121 Catania, Italy
Enzo Fontana
STMicroelectronics, SRL, Stradale Primosole 50, 95121 Catania, Italy
Alfio-lip Russo
STMicroelectronics, SRL, Stradale Primosole 50, 95121 Catania, Italy
Claudio Fiegna
Advanced Research Center on Electronic System, Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering, University of Bologna, 47522 Cesena, Italy
Enrico Sangiorgi
Advanced Research Center on Electronic System, Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering, University of Bologna, 47522 Cesena, Italy
Andrea Natale Tallarico
Advanced Research Center on Electronic System, Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering, University of Bologna, 47522 Cesena, Italy
This paper investigates the threshold voltage shift (ΔVTH) induced by positive bias temperature instability (PBTI) in silicon carbide (SiC) power MOSFETs. By analyzing ΔVTH under various gate stress voltages (VGstress) at 150 °C, distinct mechanisms are revealed: (i) trapping in the interface and/or border pre-existing defects and (ii) the creation of oxide defects and/or trapping in spatially deeper oxide states with an activation energy of ~80 meV. Notably, the adoption of different characterization methods highlights the distinct roles of these mechanisms. Moreover, the study demonstrates consistent behavior in permanent ΔVTH degradation across VGstress levels using a power law model. Overall, these findings deepen the understanding of PBTI in SiC MOSFETs, providing insights for reliability optimization.
