Materials Science Forum, Vol.457-460, 957-962, 2004
High voltage (500V-14kV) 4H-SiC unipolar-bipolar Darlington transistors for high-power and high-temperature applications
Four 14kV power switch configurations in 4H-SiC including single normally-off trenched-and-implanted VJFET (TIVJFET), single BJT, TIVJFET-BJT Darlington pair and BJT-BJT Darlington pair are investigated and compared by performing two-dimensional numerical simulations. The Darlington pairs have higher current handling capability and require less drive current than the single devices. When current density is lower than 64A/cm(2), TIVJFET-BJT Darlington pair has a much higher current gain than BJT-BJT Darlington pair. Experimental results of a single TIVJFET, a TIVJFET-TIVJFET Darlington pair, and a TWJFET-BJT Darlington pair at similar to500V are reported. Both simulation and experimental results show that one can keep the advantage of voltage-controlled property of TIVJFETs while maintaining the advantage of higher current handling capability of BJTs, making TIVJFET-BJT Darlington transistors a better choice in comparison to BJT-BJT Darlington transistors.