Single Event Burnout Hardened High-power Diamond Devices

Electrical power management designed for use in spacenbsp;requiresnbsp;electronics capable of operating without damage in the galactic cosmic ray space radiation environment. Unfortunately, the adoption ofnbsp; SiC and GaN technology into space applications is hindered by their susceptibility to permanent degradation and catastrophic failure from single-event effect heavy-ion exposure. This degradation occurs at lt;50% of the rated operating voltage, requiring the operation of SiC/GaN devices at de-rated voltages.nbsp;nbsp;Diamond is one of the candidate materials for the next-generation WBG semiconductor devices capable of overcoming the current limitations of SiC/GaN technology. In addition to having the highest breakdown field, it has the highest p-type conductivity, making it a unique p-channel material for power electronics. It also holds a solid hope to be hardened against single-event burnout (SEB) due to its superior thermal conductivity and ability to maintain excellent crystallinitynbsp;under heavy ion exposure.nbsp;Euclid Beamlabs, in collaboration with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, will develop a new quasi-lateral diamond power MOSFET (QLDT)nbsp; that will overcome current limitations by combining the inherent advantages of diamond material, SEB hardened transistor design with advanced 3D femtosecond laser writing capabilities of micrometer-scale conductive structure fabrication inside the diamond. The project#39;s primary focus is developing a SEB-tolerantnbsp;diamond transistor design with a 2D Hole Gasnbsp;conductive channel and graphitized embedded connections. The targeted specifications are a 1,200+ V voltage rating with 1.0 mOhm-cm2nbsp;specific on-resistance.nbsp;nbsp;In Phase II, we will focus on the 3D simulations of QLDTsnbsp;at supercomputer facilities.nbsp;Thennbsp;we evaluate the SEB performance of QLDTs under varying conditions.nbsp;We will also fabricate a QLDT prototype following the fabrication process flow outlined in Phase 1. The prototype will be tested at the heavy-ion terrestrial facility.