Carrier-Removal Comparison (n/p) and Functional Testing of Si and SiC Power Diodes

Commercial Si and 4H-SiC Schottky barrier power diodes were irradiated in the mixed neutron and gamma-ray radiation field of The Ohio State University research reactor (OSURR). The forward I-V characteristics were measured before and immediately after each successive irradiation, and the carrier-removal rates were compared, on the basis of NIEL, to a previous study, for which the same diode models were irradiated with a 203 MeV proton beam. In addition, a number of SiC Schottky barrier diodes were also irradiated in the OSURR and subsequently functionally tested in half-wave rectifier circuits, for which the voltage and current waveforms in the circuit were recorded. The results from the functional testing of these half-wave rectifier circuits were analyzed using results from I-V characterization, PSpice simulations, and an analytical formulation.