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abstract: Wide bandgap semiconductors show superior material properties enabling potential power device operation at higher temperatures, voltages, and switching speeds than current Si technology. As a result, a new generation of power devices is being developed for power converter applications in which traditional Si power devices show limited operation. The use of these new power semiconductor devices will allow both an important improvement in the performance of existing power converters and the development of new power converters, accounting for an increase in the efficiency of the electric energy transformations and a more rational use of the electric energy. At present, SiC and GaN are the more promising semiconductor materials for these new power devices as a consequence of their outstanding properties, commercial availability of starting material, and maturity of their technological processes. This paper presents a review of recent progresses in the development of SiC and GaN based power semiconductor devices together with an overall view of the state of the art of this new device generation.
author_names: Jose Millan

Philippe Godignon

Xavier Perpina

Amador Perez-Tomas

Jose Rebollo
title: A Survey of Wide Bandgap Power Semiconductor Devices
venue: IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics
year: 2014

abstract: Abstract Diamond is known as an ultimate material because of its superior properties and it is expected to be employed in next generation power electronic devices. Progress in epitaxial growth and fabrication techniques such as p and n type doping control with low compensation and surface treatment have improved the performance of power devices. High forward current density and long term stability have been achieved for Schottky barrier diodes operating at 400 degC. Fast turn off operation with low loss and a high blocking capability of 10 kV have also been realized. In addition, high blocking voltages of more than 2 kV have been achieved for switching devices such as metal semiconductor field effect transistors (MESFETs) and metal oxide semiconductor FETs. To maximize device performance up to the material limit requires the development of fabrication techniques such as selective area doping, lithography, etching, formation of diamond/oxide interfaces and also defect reduction. Here, the current status of semiconductor diamond technology is reviewed.
author_names: H Umezawa
title: Recent advances in diamond power semiconductor devices
year: 2018

abstract: Modern civilization is related to the increased use of electric energy for industry production, human mobility, and comfortable living. Highly efficient and reliable power electronic systems, which convert and process electric energy from one form to the other, are critical for smart grid and renewable energy systems. The power semiconductor device, as the cornerstone technology in a power electronics system, plays a pivotal role in determining the system efficiency, size, and cost. Starting from the invention and commercialization of silicon bipolar junction transistor 60 years ago, a whole array of silicon power semiconductor devices have been developed and commercialized. These devices enable power electronics systems to reach ultrahigh efficiency and high power capacity needed for various smart grid and renewable energy system applications such as photovoltaic (PV) wind, energy storage, electric vehicle (EV) flexible ac transmission system (FACTS) and high voltage dc (HVDC) transmission. In the last two decades, newer generations of power semiconductor devices based on wide bandgap (WBG) materials, such as SiC and GaN, were developed and commercialized further pushing the boundary of power semiconductor devices to higher voltages, higher frequencies, and higher temperatures. This paper reviews some of the major power semiconductor devices technologies and their potential impacts and roadmaps.
author_names: Alex Q Huang
title: Power Semiconductor Devices for Smart Grid and Renewable Energy Systems
venue: Proceedings of the IEEE
year: 2017

abstract: At the heart of modern power electronics converters are power semiconductor switching devices. The emergence of wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices, including silicon carbide and gallium nitride, promises power electronics converters with higher efficiency, smaller size, lighter weight, and lower cost than converters using the established siliconbased devices. However, WBG devices pose new challenges for converter design and require more careful characterization, in particular due to their fast switching speed and more stringent need for protection. Characterization of Wide Bandgap Power Semiconductor Devices presents comprehensive methods with examples for the characterization of this important class of power devices. After an introduction, the book covers pulsed static characterization; junction capacitance characterization; fundamentals of dynamic characterization; gate drive for dynamic characterization; layout design and parasitic management; protection design for double pulse test; measurement and data processing for dynamic characterization; cross talk consideration; impact of three phase system; and topology considerations.
author_names: Fei Wang

Zheyu Zhang

Edward A Jones
title: Characterization of Wide Bandgap Power Semiconductor Devices
year: 2018

abstract: Research on high voltage (HV) silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor devices has attracted much attention in recent years. This paper overviews the development and status of HV SiC devices. Meanwhile, benefits of HV SiC devices are presented. The technologies and challenges for HV SiC device application in converter design are discussed. The state of the art applications of HV SiC devices are also reviewed.
author_names: Shiqi Ji

Zheyu Zhang

Fred Wang
title: Overview of high voltage sic power semiconductor devices: development and application
year: 2017

abstract: The thermal behavior of power electronics devices has been a crucial design consideration, because it is closely related to the reliability and also the cost of the converter system. Unfortunately, the widely used thermal models based on lumps of thermal resistances and capacitances have their limits to correctly predict the device temperatures, especially when considering the thermal grease and heat sink attached to the power semiconductor devices. In this paper, frequency domain approach is applied to the modeling of the thermal dynamics for power devices. The limits of the existing RC lump based thermal networks are explained from a point of view of frequency domain. Based on the discovery, a more advanced thermal model developed in the frequency domain is proposed, which can be easily established by characterizing the slope variation from the bode diagram of the typically used Foster thermal network. The proposed model can be used to predict not only the internal temperature behaviors of the devices but also the behaviors of the heat flowing out of the devices. As a result, more correct estimation of device temperature can be achieved when considering the cooling conditions for the devices.
author_names: Ke Ma

Ning He

Marco Liserre

Frede Blaabjerg
title: Frequency Domain Thermal Modeling and Characterization of Power Semiconductor Devices
venue: IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics
year: 2016

abstract: Wire bond lift off and Solder fatigue are degradation mechanisms that dominate the lifetime of power semiconductor packages. Although their lifetime is commonly estimated at the design stage, based on mission profiles and physics of failure models, there are many uncertainties associated with such lifetime estimates, emerging, e.g. from model calibration errors, manufacturing tolerances, etc. These uncertainties, combined with the diverse working environments of power semiconductor packages result in inaccurate lifetime estimates. This paper presents an approach for estimating the extent of degradation in power semiconductor packages based on online monitoring of key parameters of the semiconductor, namely, the thermal resistance <inline formula><tex math notation="LaTeX"$R_{\rm{thja} /tex math>/inline formula> and the electrical resistance <inline formula><tex math notation="LaTeX"$R_{\rm{CE} /tex math>/inline formula> Using these two parameters, solder fatigue and wire bond lift off can be detected during normal converter operation. In order to estimate these two parameters, two techniques are introduced: a residual obtained from a Kalman filter, which estimates the change in the thermal resistance <inline formula> <tex math notation="LaTeX"$R_{\rm{thja}/tex math>/inline formula> and a recursive least squares algorithm, which is used to estimate the electrical resistance. Both methods are implemented online and validated experimentally.
author_names: Mohd Amir Eleffendi

C Mark Johnson
title: In Service Diagnostics for Wire Bond Lift off and Solder Fatigue of Power Semiconductor Packages
venue: IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics
year: 2017

abstract: Low temperature Ag sintering provides a lead free die attachment method that is compatible with high temperature (300 degC) power electronics applications. The reliability of sintered Ag die attach for Si and SiC die has been studied on both thick film substrates for lower current power applications and direct bond copper (DBC) substrates for higher current power applications. Pressureless and low pressure sintering were evaluated. Sintering with low pressure yielded lower porosity (15 17% versus pressureless sintering ~30% Reliability was evaluated with thermal aging (300 degC) and thermal cycling 55 degC to 300 degC) tests. Reliable Ag sintered die attach was achieved with assemblies having Ag bearing surface finishes on both the die and the substrate. In contrast, the shear strength after 300 degC aging was greatly reduced when Au metallization was used either on the die or on substrate surface. In some cases, low pressure sintering delayed the failure of the sintered Ag die attach to Au surfaces when aged at 300 degC compared to the pressureless sintering. The reliability with Pd containing substrate metallizations was intermediate between Ag and Au metallizations. The thermal cycle reliability on DBC substrates was limited by failure at the Cu to alumina interface over the wide temperature range, while on the thick film substrates high adhesion was maintained after 1000 thermal cycles.
author_names: Fang Yu

Jinzi Cui

Zhangming Zhou

Kun Fang

R Wayne Johnson

Michael C Hamilton
title: Reliability of Ag Sintering for Power Semiconductor Die Attach in High Temperature Applications
venue: IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics
year: 2017

abstract: The investigation shows that power semiconductor devices are the most fragile components of power electronic systems.Improving the reliability of power devices is the basis of a reliable power electronic system, and in recent years, many studies have focused on power device reliability.This paper describes the current state of the art in reliability research for power semiconductor devices, mainly includes failure mechanisms,condition monitoring, lifetime evaluation and active thermal control.Among them,condition monitoring technology are classified and summarized by the failure mechanism and the change rules of characteristic quantities; The method of lifetime estimation isillustrated from the practical point of view;Methods of active thermal control are classified and summarized from the two ideas of reducing loss and loss compensation which are refined by the principle of realization. At last, this paper draws the existing problems and challenges of power devices reliability studies.
author_names: Bo Wang

Jie Cai

Xiong Du

Luowei Zhou
title: Review of power semiconductor device reliability for power converters
year: 2017

abstract: Bulk gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductor devices are gaining significant interest in recent years, creating the need for technology computer aided design (TCAD) simulation to accurately model and optimize these devices. This paper comprehensively reviews and compares different GaN physical models and model parameters in the literature, and discusses the appropriate selection of these models and parameters for TCAD simulation. 2 D drift diffusion semi classical simulation is carried out for 2.6 kV and 3.7 kV bulk GaN vertical PN diodes. The simulated forward current voltage and reverse breakdown characteristics are in good agreement with the measurement data even over a wide temperature range.
author_names: Gourab Sabui

Peter J Parbrook

Miryam Arredondo-Arechavala

Z John Shen
title: Modeling and simulation of bulk gallium nitride power semiconductor devices
year: 2016