SiC power semiconductor efficiency found in double trench structure

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SiC power semiconductor efficiency found in double trench structure

Published2015.09.08 20:41

How will new trench-based technology change the SiC power semiconductor market?

ROHM is taking a step forward in its rapidly growing SiC (silicon carbide) power semiconductor technology.

ROHM Semiconductor Korea (CEO Kwon Oh-joo), the Korean branch of ROHM Co., Ltd., announced that it has developed the world's first SiC MOSFET employing a trench structure and established a mass production system.

SiC Market to Grow 25.1% by 2020

The reason Rohm is investing in the SiC market is because of its enormous market potential. According to market research firm Yole, the SiC semiconductor market is expected to grow from $112M in 2014 to $362M in 2020, with an annual growth rate of 19.3% until 2018 and 25.1% until 2020.

The reason why the market outlook for SiC power semiconductors is so bright lies in the characteristics of SiC. Hiroyuki Tanaka, Manager of ROHM Semiconductor Korea, emphasized that the main merits of SiC are ‘low resistance, high-speed operation, and high-temperature operation.’

▲ ROHM’s Trench-MOSFET significantly reduces switching loss.

Low resistance, high speed operation, high temperature operation characteristics

In other words, the high dielectric breakdown field characteristics of SiC enable the implementation of low ON resistance, which makes module miniaturization possible, and the wide gap allows for high-speed operation, which in turn leads to miniaturization of peripheral components, and since it operates at high temperatures, the cooling mechanism can be configured simply.

Manager Tanaka said, “The advantage of SiC MOSFETs is that they are high-voltage devices and have lower switching losses compared to widely used Si IGBTs, which allows for increased operating frequency along with energy loss, making it possible to miniaturize devices.”

Not satisfied with the existing SiC MOSFET (Planar) structure, ROHM developed SiC Trench MOSFET technology, a third-generation technology that significantly improves efficiency. Until now, the adoption of the trench structure in SiC MOSFETs has attracted attention because it can significantly reduce ON resistance, but the challenge has been to alleviate the electric field generated in the gate trench portion and secure long-term reliability. The method presented by ROHM to solve these problems is to apply its own double trench structure.

▲ Comparison of ROHM's double trench structure ( right ) and single trench structure

Although research and development is being promoted using the existing single trench structure, it was necessary to secure the reliability of the device in order to realize mass production. ROHM adopted a trench structure for the source section as well, alleviating the electric field concentration at the bottom of the gate trench and securing the long-term reliability of the device.

Accordingly, the ON resistance was reduced by 50% compared to the existing planar type SiC-MOSFET with the same chip size, and the switching performance was also improved as the input capacitance was reduced by 35%.

ROHM utilizes this product to create a full SiC power moduleThe internal circuit adopts a 2-in-1 structure, embedding SiC-MOSFET and SiC-SBD in a single package and realizing a 1200V/180A rating. ROHM announced that in the future, it plans to sequentially commercialize three types of products with ratings of 650V (118A) and 1200V (95A) as discrete types.

CEO Kwon Oh-joo said, “ROHM is a company with an integrated production system including front-end and back-end processes for SiC power semiconductors, including SiC substrates, SiC discrete devices, and SiC modules.” He added, “The innovative SiC trench MOSFET announced this time is expected to lead to the miniaturization and reduction of power consumption in devices that consume large amounts of power, such as power conditioners for solar power generation, power supplies for industrial equipment, and industrial inverters.”

#SiC

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SiC power semiconductor efficiency found in double trench structure

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