High Efficiency High Voltage 4H-SiC Devices

In response to the Air Force SBIR topic AF01-169, Sterling Semiconductor proposes a6-month, $100K program to establish the feasibility of the materials technologynecessary for growth of complex, thick (> 100 mm), highly pure silicon carbide (SiC)device structures in a single growth run. Growth of complex device structures in asingle run will greatly reduce the cost of SiC epitaxial growth over existing SiCepitaxial technology by improving yield and throughput. The capability to growthese complex pnpn or npn structures without growth interruption will also havesystem impact by dramatically improving performance of SiC power devices. Theseimprovements, when combined with Sterling's leadership in SiC wafer technology,will enable the high-yield manufacturing of 5kV switching devices with highswitching speed and low on-resistance. Sterling will utilize this technologyduring Phase I to produce a 5 kV/10A inverter using 4H-SiC rectifiers and Siswitching devicesFuture power systems, as envisioned by the Department of Defense (DoD), will requirelighweight, high-density power converters (>1 MW) for operation at high temperaturein hostile enviornments. Active devices with high-voltage (25kV-100kV) andhigh-current (50A-1000A) capability are required for such power converters.