SBIR Phase I: Radiation Tolerant, High-Voltage, Silicon Carbide Devices

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛的商业影响是使更小、更轻和更高性能的卫星成为可能，从而使卫星的制造和发射成本更低。更轻的卫星降低了发射成本，或者在给定质量的情况下允许更好的有效载荷性能。发射更轻的卫星需要更少的燃料，从而减少发射过程中产生的温室气体对环境的影响。通过卫星进行的互联网连接正变得越来越普遍，如果成本继续下降，它可能会变得无处不在，支持迄今未得到服务的地区的劳动力发展和教育推广。当碳化硅半导体在航空航天和卫星等应用中取代硅高压设备时，许多组件，如电源，可以变得更轻、更小。最终目标是用碳化硅产品取代卫星和航空航天中的所有硅高压设备。已经证明，常规设计的商用高压碳化硅材料无法承受外层空间应用中遇到的高辐射水平。该项目的目标是开发、制造、测试和证明碳化硅高压半导体产品的生存能力，这些产品具有与太空中遇到的辐射水平相当的抗辐射水平。商用碳化硅(SIC)功率器件不被批准用于重离子辐射环境，因为当暴露在辐射中时，它们对灾难性故障和电压低于指定电压20%的烧毁非常敏感。因此，尽管碳化硅高压器件为关键任务应用提供了非常引人注目的特性，但它们目前并未用于空间应用。使用模拟工具，该团队创造了一种碳化硅结势垒肖特基二极管，在高离子辐射下可以工作在高达1200V的电压下。将设计、生产额定电压为1200V的抗辐射碳化硅结势垒肖特基二极管，并对其进行抗辐射测试。为了实现目标的辐射性能，将采用多管齐下的策略，包括设计新颖的器件以减少电场，并缓解器件在反向偏压下由于离子撞击而引起的热失控。将使用热稳定性提高的肖特基势垒材料。预期方法的成功实施将为在空间应用中集成碳化硅肖特基二极管器件开辟道路。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enable smaller, lighter, and higher-performance satellites, thereby making satellites cheaper to manufacture and launch. Lighter satellites reduce launch costs or permit greater payload performance for a given mass. Less fuel is required to launch lighter satellites, reducing the environmental impact of greenhouse gases generated during launch. Internet connectivity through satellite is becoming increasingly pervasive, and if costs continue to decline, it might become ubiquitous, supporting workforce development and educational outreach in hitherto unserved places. Many components, such as power supplies, can be made lighter and smaller when silicon carbide semiconductors are utilized in place of silicon high voltage devices in applications such as aerospace and satellites. The ultimate goal is to replace all silicon high-voltage devices in satellites and aerospace with silicon carbide products. It has been demonstrated that conventionally designed commercial high voltage silicon carbide materials cannot withstand the high radiation levels encountered in outer space applications. The objective of this project is to develop, manufacture, test, and demonstrate the viability of silicon carbide high voltage semiconductor products that are resistant to radiation levels comparable to those encountered in space.Commercially available silicon carbide (SiC) power devices are not approved for use in heavy ion radiation environments due to their susceptibility to catastrophic failure and burnout at voltages below 20% of the specified voltage when exposed to radiation. Consequently, SiC high voltage devices are not currently used in space applications, despite the fact that they offer very compelling features for mission-critical applications. Using simulation tools, the team has created a SiC junction barrier Schottky diode that can operate at up to 1200 V under high ion radiation. A radiation-resistant silicon carbide junction barrier Schottky diode rated at 1200 V will be designed, produced, and tested for radiation resistance. To accomplish the target radiation performance, a multi-pronged strategy will be applied, including novel device designs to reduce the electric field and mitigation of thermal runaway caused by ion strike when the device is under reverse bias. Schottky barrier materials with improved thermal stability will be used. Successful implementation of the intended approach will open the way for the integration of SiC Schottky diode devices in space applications.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.