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

SBIR 第一阶段：耐辐射、高压、碳化硅器件

• 批准号: 2304486
• 负责人: SUDARSAN UPPILI
• 金额: $ 27.5万
• 依托单位: SCDEVICE LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2304486&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Radiation; Tolerant; Voltage

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.

小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响是使卫星更小，更轻，性能更高，从而使卫星的制造和发射成本更低。较轻的卫星降低了发射成本，或允许在给定质量下具有更大的有效载荷性能。发射更轻的卫星所需的燃料更少，从而减少了发射过程中产生的温室气体对环境的影响。通过卫星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，支持劳动力发展和教育推广到迄今为止没有服务的地方。当碳化硅半导体在航空航天和卫星等应用中取代硅高压器件时，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器件。已经证明，传统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、并证明碳化硅高压半导体产品的可行性，其抗辐射水平与太空中遇到的辐射水平相当。商业上可用的碳化硅（SiC）功率器件不被批准用于重离子辐射环境，因为它们在低于20%的电压下容易发生灾难性故障和烧毁。当暴露于辐射时，因此，SiC高压器件目前尚未用于空间应用，尽管它们为关键任务应用提供了非常引人注目的功能。利用模拟工具，该团队已经创建了一个SiC结势垒肖特基二极管，可以在高离子辐射下工作在高达1200 V。一个抗辐射的碳化硅结势垒肖特基二极管额定在1200 V的设计，生产和测试的抗辐射性。为了实现目标辐射性能，将应用多管齐下的策略，包括新颖的器件设计，以减少电场和缓解当器件处于反向偏置时由离子撞击引起的热失控。 将使用具有改进的热稳定性的肖特基势垒材料。成功实施预期的方法将开辟道路，集成SiC肖特基二极管器件在空间应用。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。