4 kV silicon carbide Schottky diodes for high-frequency switching applications

Schottky rectifiers exhibit minimal reverse recovery current, and are thus preferred over PiN diodes for high-frequency switching applications such as industrial motor controls and electric vehicle inverters. Implementation of Schottky devices in SiC material has the advantage of producing very high blocking voltages with a moderate epi thickness compared to silicon devices produced in industry today. In this report we describe the first 4 kV Schottky diodes in 4H-SiC. The development of these devices follows earlier work in which breakdown voltages of 1720 V were obtained on 13 /spl mu/m 4H-SiC epilayers.