Heavy ion radiation and temperature effects on SiC schottky barrier diode

Abstract The function of a commercial Schottky Barrier Diode (SBD) based on 4H-SiC in an environment of extreme temperature and radiation was assessed. The capacitance-voltage (C-V) and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the devices were measured by heavy ions (HIs) irradiation at 3 different fluences and 15 different nodes of temperature. From these measurements, the effective carrier concentration (ND), reverse current (IR), series resistance (RS), ideal factor (n), and Schottky barrier height (SBH) were calculated and analyzed. Obvious increases of ND and IR were found and some changes of the electronic characteristics with temperature were enhanced by HIs. After the highest fluence of irradiation, the IR at low temperature (20 K) was even larger than the IR at room temperature, which was subjected to lower fluence of irradiation, suggesting risks for aerospace applications. These changes were attributed to defects both at the interface and in the body-substrate induced by irradiation.