0000000000628681
AUTHOR
Kay-obbe Voss
Microbeam SEE Analysis of MIM Capacitors for GaN Amplifiers
Broad-beam and microbeam single-event effect tests were performed on metal–insulator–metal capacitors with three different thicknesses of silicon nitride (Si3N4) dielectric insulator: 250, 500, and 750 nm. The broad-beam tests indicated that the devices with the thicker, 500- and 750-nm dielectric did not have a greater breakdown voltage. The surrounding structures of the capacitor were suspected to be a possible cause. Microbeam techniques made it possible to localize the failure location for the 500- and 750-nm devices. The failure occurs in the air bridge structure connected to the top capacitor plate, which can therefore be considered as an edge effect, while for the 250-nm devices, the…
Heavy-Ion Microbeam Studies of Single-Event Leakage Current Mechanism in SiC VD-MOSFETs
Heavy-ion microbeams are employed for probing the radiation-sensitive regions in commercial silicon carbide (SiC) vertical double-diffused power (VD)-MOSFETs with micrometer accuracy. By scanning the beam spot over the die, a spatial periodicity was observed in the leakage current degradation, reflecting the striped structure of the power MOSFET investigated. Two different mechanisms were observed for degradation. At low drain bias (gate and source grounded), only the gate-oxide (at the JFET or neck region) is contributing in the ion-induced leakage current. For exposures at drain–source bias voltages higher than a specific threshold, additional higher drain leakage current is observed in t…