Characterization of silicon carbide junction field effect transistors and metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors

Silicon carbide (SiC) is increasingly becoming the material of choice to replace silicon (Si) for power semiconductor devices, with SiC power devices currently being developed at various research and manufacturing organizations. Some of the devices being developed include the metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) and the junction field effect transistor (JFET). The physical properties of SiC means that MOSFET and JFET fabricated with SiC are capable of high speed and high voltage operation. To capitalize on the potential of these devices, designers will require SiC MOSFET and JFET device models for use in circuit simulators.; Generating the device models requires measured device characteristics like drain-source on-resistance and switching times. The objective of this research was to develop an automated bench top test system to characterize the SiC MOSFET and JFET for device modeling. A high power curve tracer and specially designed test board along with a data acquisition program developed in LabVIEW(TM) provide for a quick and accurate measurement of the device parameters, thus providing with vital information against which their models are validated.