Silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit

Abstract

An inverter circuit is connected serially with a first silicon carbide MOSFET and a second silicon carbide MOSFET. During a dead time when the first silicon carbide MOSFET and the second silicon carbide MOSFET are OFF, transient current of at least 100 A/cm2 flows in a built-in diode of the first silicon carbide MOSFET and a built-in diode of the second silicon carbide MOSFET.

Claims

1. A silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit comprising: a first silicon carbide MOSFET; a second silicon carbide MOSFET connected serially with the first silicon carbide MOSFET; a first diode connected in reverse parallel to the first silicon carbide MOSFET; a second diode connected in reverse parallel to the second silicon carbide MOSFET; a first parasitic diode included in the first silicon carbide MOSFET; and a second parasitic diode included in the second silicon carbide MOSFET, wherein a forward voltage of the first parasitic diode and a forward voltage of the first diode are configured so that a peak current of the first parasitic diode is at least 100 A/cm.sup.2, and a forward voltage of the second parasitic diode and a forward voltage of the second diode are configured so that a peak current of the second parasitic diode is at least 100 A/cm.sup.2.

2. The silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit according to claim 1, wherein the peak current of the built-in diode is a maximum value of a transient current.

3. The silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit according to claim 1, wherein the peak current of at least 100A/cm.sup.2 of the first parasitic diode causes the first parasitic diode to emit light, the peak current of at least 100 A/cm.sup.2 of the second parasitic diode causes the second parasitic diode to emit light, energy of the light emitted by the first parasitic diode is at least 3.2 eV, and energy of the light emitted by the second parasitic diode is at least 3.2 eV.

4. The silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit according to claim 3, wherein the light emitted by the first parasitic diode has a wavelength of 395 nm.

5. A silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit, comprising: a first silicon carbide MOSFET; and a second silicon carbide MOSFET connected serially with the first silicon carbide MOSFET, wherein the first silicon carbide MOSFET includes a first built-in diode and the second silicon carbide MOSFET includes a second built-in diode, the first built-in diode and the second built-in diode being configured to, during a dead time when the first silicon carbide MOSFET and the second silicon carbide MOSFET are both OFF at a same time, have a transient current flow in the first built-in diode and in the second built-in diode such that the transient current causes light to be emitted from the first built-in diode and the second built-in diode, and the light releases holes present at an interface of an oxide film and a silicon carbide layer of the first silicon carbide MOSFET and at an interface of an oxide film and a silicon carbide layer of the second silicon carbide MOSFET.

6. The silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit according to claim 5, wherein the oxide film corresponds to a gate insulating film.

7. The silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit according to claim 5, further comprising; a first Schottky barrier diode connected in reverse parallel to the first silicon carbide MOSFET; and a second Schottky barrier diode connected in reverse parallel to the second silicon carbide MOSFET.

8. The silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit according to claim 5, wherein the transient current occurs for a time interval of 0.2 s to 1.0 s.

9. The inverter circuit according to claim 8, wherein the first built-in diode and the second built-in diode are configured such that a peak value of the transient current is at least 100 A/cm.sup.2 during the time interval.

10. The silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit according to claim 5, wherein the light emitted from the first built-in diode and the second built-in diode has a wavelength of 395 nm.

11. The silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit according to claim 5, wherein the first built-in diode is formed between a source and a drain, by a p+-type base region and a n-type silicon carbide epitaxial layer, of the first silicon carbide MOSFET, and the second built-in diode is formed between a source and a drain, by a p+-type base region and a n-type silicon carbide epitaxial layer, of the second silicon carbide MOSFET.

12. The silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit according to claim 5, wherein the silicon carbide layer and the oxide film of the first silicon carbide MOSFET have a band offset difference from 2.29 eV to 3.15 eV.

13. The silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit according to claim 5, wherein the first built-in diode and the second built-in diode are configured to have a peak current of at least 100 A/cm.sup.2.

14. The silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit according to claim 13, wherein the first built-in diode is formed between a source and a drain, by a p+-type base region and a n-type silicon carbide epitaxial layer, of the first silicon carbide MOSFET, and the second built-in diode is formed between a source and a drain, by a p+-type base region and a n-type silicon carbide epitaxial layer, of the second silicon carbide MOSFET.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting an example of a silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit of an embodiment;

(2) FIG. 2 is a graph of temporal changes of current flowing in a built-in diode of the silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit of a silicon carbide MOSFET of the embodiment;

(3) FIG. 3A is a graph of ON/OFF of the silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit of the silicon carbide MOSFET of the embodiment;

(4) FIG. 3B is a graph of ON/OFF of the silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit of the silicon carbide MOSFET of the embodiment;

(5) FIG. 4 is a graph depicting light emission amount of the built-in diode of the silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit of the silicon carbide MOSFET of the embodiment;

(6) FIG. 5A is a diagram depicting band offset of silicon carbide and an oxide film;

(7) FIG. 5B is a diagram depicting band offset of silicon carbide and an oxide film;

(8) FIG. 6 is a graph depicting the light emission amount when a peak current of the built-in diode is 50 A/cm.sup.2;

(9) FIG. 7 is a graph depicting the light emission amount when the peak current of the built-in diode is 100 A/cm.sup.2;

(10) FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a structure of a conventional silicon carbide semiconductor device.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(11) First problems associated with the conventional technique will be discussed. When a silicon carbide interface has an interface state of 210.sup.12/cm.sup.2, this is a high value compared to an interface state of silica of 110.sup.10/cm.sup.2. Therefore, when high electric field is applied to the gate electrode 9, holes, which have positive charge, gradually accumulate at the interface of the gate insulating film 8 and the silicon carbide layer. As a result, high-density hole traps are generated near the interface, and holes (positive charge) become trapped in the hole traps (interface traps). Due to the occurrence of the interface traps, even when a nitride is formed at the interface, a problem arises in that when high electric field is applied to the gate electrode 9, the threshold voltage Vth varies from 0.3V to 0.6V. As a method of forming the gate insulating film 8, NO oxidation, N.sub.2O oxidation, wet oxidation, etc. have been proposed. Nonetheless, variation of threshold voltage Vth is difficult to suppress at 0.3V or below.

(12) Embodiments of a silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present description and accompanying drawings, layers and regions prefixed with n or p mean that majority carriers are electrons or holes. Additionally, + or appended to n or p means that the impurity concentration is higher or lower, respectively, than layers and regions without + or . In the description of the embodiments below and the accompanying drawings, main portions that are identical will be given the same reference numerals and will not be repeatedly described.

(13) FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting an example of a silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit of an embodiment. A silicon carbide MOSFET of the embodiment has a configuration similar to that of the conventional silicon carbide semiconductor device and therefore, depiction and description thereof is omitted hereinafter. While the conventional silicon carbide semiconductor device described with FIG. 8 is a silicon carbide MOSFET having a planar structure in which a channel is formed parallel to a substrate surface, the present invention is applicable to a silicon carbide MOSFET used in an inverter circuit. For example, the present invention is further applicable to a vertical MOSFET having a trench structure in which a channel is formed in an orthogonal direction with respect to the substrate surface.

(14) The vertical MOSFET, as a body diode between a source and a drain, has a built-in parasitic pn diode formed by the p.sup.+-type base region 3 and the n-type silicon carbide epitaxial layer 2. The parasitic pn diode may be operated by applying a high potential to the source electrode 10, and current flows in a direction (in FIG. 8, direction indicated by arrow A) from the p.sup.+-type contact region 6, through the p.sup.+-type base region 3 and the n-type silicon carbide epitaxial layer 2, toward the n.sup.+-type silicon carbide substrate 1. In this manner, at the MOSFET, unlike an IGBT, a parasitic pn diode is built-in, whereby a free wheeling diode (FWD) used by the inverter may be omitted, contributing to a lower cost and a smaller size. Hereinafter, the parasitic pn diode of the MOSFET is referred to as built-in diode.

(15) However, in a silicon carbide semiconductor device, defects may be present in the crystal of the n-type silicon carbide substrate 1. In this case, when current flows in the built-in diode, holes are injected from the p.sup.+-type contact region 6, and recombination of electrons and holes occurs in the n-type silicon carbide epitaxial layer 2 or the n.sup.+-type silicon carbide substrate 1. Due to recombination energy (3 eV) of the corresponding band gap occurring at this time, basal plane dislocations, which are one type of crystal defect present in the n.sup.+-type silicon carbide substrate 1, migrate and stacking faults sandwiched between two basal plane dislocations expand.

(16) When a stacking fault expands, current does not flow easily through the stacking fault and therefore, ON resistance of the MOSFET and forward voltage of the built-in diode increase. When such operation continues, the stacking fault expands cumulatively and therefore, loss occurring in the inverter circuit increases over time and the amount of heat generated increases, causing device failure. To prevent this problem, as depicted in FIG. 1, a countermeasure of connecting a SiC-Schottky barrier diode (SBD) in reverse parallel to the MOSFET so that current does not flow through the built-in diode MOSFET may be taken.

(17) The inverter circuit depicted in FIG. 1 includes plural MOSFETs (in FIG. 1, two MOSFETs 21, 22), and is a circuit for driving a load 25 of a motor, etc. In FIG. 1, diodes 26, 27 represent the respective built-in diodes of the MOSFETs 21, 22. Further, diodes 30, 31 represent the SiC-SBDs respectively connected in reverse parallel to the MOSFETs 21, 22. In FIG. 1, one phase of the inverter circuit, i.e., only one set of the MOSFETs connected serially is depicted.

(18) In the inverter circuit depicted in FIG. 1, the MOSFET 21 is turned ON by a signal from an input circuit 34, whereby in a direction (direction of arrow B) from the MOSFET 21 toward the load 25, current may flow to the load 25. Thereafter, the MOSFET 21 is turned OFF by a signal from the input circuit 34 and the MOSFET 22 is turned ON, whereby in a direction from the load 25 toward the MOSFET 22 (direction of arrow C), current may flow through the load 25. Such a configuration, changes the direction of the current, whereby, for example, an arm connected to a motor of the load 25 may be moved left and right.

(19) Here, when the MOSFET 21 is OFF, in the MOSFET 21, return current flows in direction opposite that indicated by arrow B. The return current flows in the SiC-SBD 30 whose forward voltage Vf is low and stops flowing in the built-in diode 26. Similarly, in the MOSFET 22, the return current stops flowing in the built-in diode 27. In this manner, when the MOSFET is OFF, the return current does not flow in the built-in diode and therefore, the expansion of stacking faults in the MOSFET does not occur. In the diodes 30, 31, since the stacking faults do not expand, flow of the return current in the diodes 30, 31 is not problematic.

(20) As depicted in FIG. 1, even when the SiC-SBDs 30, 31 are connected in reverse parallel to the MOSFETs 21, 22, at the moment that the MOSFETs 21, 22 switch from ON to OFF, current may flow in the built-in diodes 26, 27 of the MOSFETs 21, 22.

(21) FIG. 2 is a graph of temporal changes of current flowing in the built-in diode of the silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit of the silicon carbide MOSFET of the embodiment. In FIG. 2, a horizontal axis indicates time and a vertical axis indicates current. In FIG. 2, I1 represents current flowing in the SiC-SBDs 30, 31 and 12 represents current flowing in the built-in diodes 26, 27.

(22) FIG. 2 depicts temporal current changes when the MOSFETs 21, 22 switch from ON to OFF at a time T. As depicted in FIG. 2, when the MOSFETs 21, 22 turn OFF, the current I1 flowing in the SiC-SBDs 30, 31 gradually increases and settles at a constant value. The current I2 flowing in the built-in diodes 26, 27 gradually increases during a later described dead time from when the MOSFETs 21, 22 turn OFF. Thereafter, the current I2 gradually decreases and settles at 0 at a time T.

(23) In this manner, the current I2 flowing in the built-in diodes 26, 27 is not usually 0, and flows for a short interval of a transient state when the MOSFETs 21, 22 switch from ON to OFF. For example, transient current having a pulse width t of 0.2 s to 1.0 s flows. Further, the pulse width of the transient current is a period T-T from the time T when the current value is 0 to the time T when the current value decreases becoming 0 after having increased to reach a maximum value Ip. The pulse width is the period indicated by reference character tin FIG. 2. Hereinafter, this current is referred to as transient current.

(24) FIGS. 3A and 3B are graphs of ON/OFF of the silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit of the silicon carbide MOSFET of the embodiment. In FIGS. 3A and 3B, a horizontal axis indicates time and a vertical axis indicates voltage. Further, FIG. 3A depicts ON/OFF of the MOSFET 21 of the inverter circuit and FIG. 3B depicts ON/OFF of the MOSFET 22 of the inverter circuit. As depicted in FIGS. 3A and 3B, in the inverter circuit, when the MOSFETs (in FIG. 1, the MOSFET 21 and the MOSFET 22) connected serially turn ON concurrently, a short circuit occurs, damaging the MOSFETs and therefore, the dead time in a case where the MOSFETs turn OFF concurrently is provided. In FIGS. 3A and 3B, an interval t1 to t2, and an interval t3 to t4 are dead times.

(25) During the dead time, transient current flows in the built-in diodes 26, 27, the built-in diodes 26, 27 emit light. FIG. 4 is a graph depicting the light emission amount of the built-in diode of the silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit of the silicon carbide MOSFET of the embodiment. In FIG. 4, a horizontal axis indicates the wavelength of the light emitted from the built-in diode, in units of nm. A vertical axis indicates emitted light intensity of the emitted light. FIG. 4 shows measurement results when the silicon carbide MOSFET is used at room temperature and transient current flows in the built-in diode. As depicted in FIG. 4, from the built-in diode, there are two peaks, a wavelength 490 nm of green light (in FIG. 4, A) and a wavelength 395 nm of ultraviolet light (in FIG. 4, B).

(26) Here, the ultraviolet light of the wavelength 395 nm has energy of 3.2 eV, which is higher than the energy of the green light of the wavelength 490 nm. Therefore, when the ultraviolet light of the wavelength 395 nm is emitted from the built-in diode, holes accumulated at the interface of the gate insulating film 8 and the silicon carbide layer may be driven out.

(27) FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams depicting band offset of silicon carbide and an oxide film. In FIG. 5A, band offset of silicon carbide of a C (carbon) face and an oxide film (SiO.sub.2) is depicted. In FIG. 5B, band offset of the silicon carbide of a Si (silicon) face and the oxide film is depicted. In the figures, a case is depicted in which the silicon carbide is 4HSiC (4-layer periodic hexagonal silicon carbide). Here, the silicon carbide corresponds to the silicon carbide layer of the silicon carbide semiconductor device and the oxide film corresponds to the gate insulating film 8 of the silicon carbide semiconductor device.

(28) As depicted in FIGS. 5A and 5B, a difference of the band offset of the silicon carbide and of the oxide film is from 2.29 eV to 3.15 eV. Therefore, by irradiating ultraviolet light having energy of 3.2 eV, holes present at the interface of the silicon carbide and the oxide film receive the energy from ultraviolet light, and release the energy from the oxide film in the directions indicated by arrows A, B in FIGS. 5A and 5B. Therefore, the holes that are trapped at the interface of the gate insulating film 8 and the silicon carbide layer decrease, enabling interface traps to be decreased.

(29) On the other hand, the green light of the wavelength 490 nm has low energy and cannot drive out the holes from the oxide film. With the light emission amount of the built-in diode depicted in FIG. 4, the intensity of the ultraviolet light of the wavelength 395 nm is low, and the holes present at the interface of the silicon carbide and the oxide film cannot be driven out from the oxide film. Therefore, with the emitted light of the built-in diode, a strong intensity of the ultraviolet light of the wavelength 395 nm is able to drive out more holes trapped at the interface of the gate insulating film 8 and the silicon carbide layer, further decreasing the interface traps.

(30) FIG. 6 is a graph depicting the light emission amount when a peak current of the built-in diode is 50 A/cm.sup.2. Further, FIG. 7 is a graph depicting the light emission amount when the peak current of the built-in diode is 100 A/cm.sup.2. Here, the peak current of the built-in diode is a maximum value of the transient current and corresponds to the current Ip in FIG. 2. In FIGS. 6 and 7, a horizontal axis indicates temperature of the silicon carbide MOSFET in units of degrees C. A vertical axis indicates intensity of the emitted light. In FIGS. 6 and 7, a .diamond-solid. point indicates the intensity of 395 nm ultraviolet light and a .square-solid. point indicates the intensity of 490 nm green light.

(31) As depicted in FIGS. 6 and 7, with increasing temperature of the silicon carbide MOSFET, the intensity of the ultraviolet light of the wavelength 395 nm increases and the intensity of the green light of the wavelength 490 nm decreases. Further, in comparing FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, it is found that at the same temperature, the higher the peak current of the built-in diode is, the greater is the intensity of the ultraviolet light of the wavelength 395 nm.

(32) Here, as described above, the holes, which have positive charge, gradually accumulate at the interface of the gate insulating film 8 and the silicon carbide layer. Therefore, when the emitted light intensity is low, the amount of holes driven out during the period when the built-in diode emits light decreases and the holes cannot be decreased. Therefore, to decrease the holes, the emitted light intensity has to be at least 4000. Further, the temperature at which the silicon carbide MOSFET is used is about 100 degrees C. and therefore, when the peak current of the built-in diode is 100 A/cm.sup.2 or higher, the emitted light intensity is 4000 or higher, enabling the holes to be driven out from the interface of the gate insulating film 8 and the silicon carbide layer.

(33) In the silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit of the embodiment, the forward voltage Vf of the SiC-SBDs 30, 31 and the forward voltage Vf of the built-in diodes 26, 27 of the MOSFETs 21, 22 are specified, whereby the peak current of the built-in diode is set to be at least 100 A/cm.sup.2. For example, increasing the current that flows in the SiC-SBDs 30, 31 enables the current that flows in the built-in diodes 26, 27 to be reduced. As a result, ultraviolet light of the wavelength 395 nm and having a sufficient intensity is emitted during the interval when return current in the built-in diode flows, enabling the holes to be driven out from the interface of the gate insulating film 8 and the silicon carbide layer. Even when the threshold voltage of the silicon carbide MOSFET varies, in the silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit of the embodiment, holes at the interface are reduced and interface traps are reduced, enabling the varying threshold voltage to return to the initial state.

(34) Here, experimental results are given for a case where the ultraviolet light of the wavelength 395 nm returned the varied threshold voltage of the silicon carbide MOSFET to the initial state.

(35) (1) First, the threshold voltage at the initial state of the silicon carbide MOSFET was measured. This measurement result was 2.5V.

(36) (2) Next, high positive voltage was applied to the gate electrode 9 of the silicon carbide MOSFET, whereby FN (Fowler Nordheim) tunnel current passing through the gate insulating film 8 flowed for a predetermined period.

(37) (3) Next, after application of the FN tunnel current to the silicon carbide MOSFET, the threshold voltage was measured. This measurement result was 2.3V. The threshold voltage changed 0.2V due to application of the FN tunnel current.

(38) (4) Next, ultraviolet light of a wavelength of 385 nm was irradiated on the gate insulating film 8 of the silicon carbide MOSFET for one hour.

(39) (5) Finally, after irradiation of the ultraviolet light of the wavelength of 385 nm on the silicon carbide MOSFET, the threshold voltage was measured. This measurement result was 2.5V. In this manner, it was confirmed that the threshold voltage was returned to the initial state by the irradiation of the ultraviolet light of the wavelength of 385 nm. Therefore, in the silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit of the embodiment, ultraviolet light of the wavelength 395 nm is emitted from the built-in diode, enabling the threshold voltage of the silicon carbide MOSFET to be returned to the initial state.

(40) In the embodiment, while a SiC-SBD is used as a diode connected to the silicon carbide MOSFET, a Si-SBD may be used. For thermal capability of inverter equipment, a SiC-SBD may be used. Further, instead of a SBD, a PN diode may be used. Further, when no diode is connected to the silicon carbide MOSFET, subsequent return current due to transient current flows in the silicon carbide MOSFET and therefore, a diode may be connected. However, when the quality of the silicon carbide semiconductor substrate is high and crystal defects do not grow even when return current flows, without connection of a diode, the built-in diode may be used as a FWD.

(41) As described, according to the inverter circuit of the silicon carbide MOSFET according to the embodiment, 100 A/cm.sup.2 or greater current flows in the built-in diode and ultraviolet light of the wavelength 395 nm is emitted from the built-in diode. As a result, holes are driven out from the interface of the gate insulating film and the silicon carbide layer, enabling interface traps to be reduced. Therefore, even when the threshold voltage of the silicon carbide MOSFET varies, in the inverter circuit of the silicon carbide MOSFET of the embodiment, the threshold voltage may be returned to the initial state and the threshold voltage of the silicon carbide MOSFET may be stabilized.

(42) In the embodiments of the present invention, various modifications are possible within a range not departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, dimensions, impurity concentrations, etc. of regions may be variously set according to required specifications. Further, in the embodiments, while a case in which silicon carbide is used as a wide bandgap semiconductor material is described as an example, application to a wide bandgap semiconductor material other than silicon carbide such as gallium nitride (GaN) is possible. Further, in the embodiments, while a first conductivity type is assumed to be an n-type and a second conductivity type is assumed to be a p-type, the present invention is similarly implemented when the first conductivity type is a p-type and the second conductivity type is an n-type.

(43) According to the embodiments of the present invention, in the inverter circuit of the silicon carbide MOSFET, 100 A/cm.sup.2 or greater current flows in the built-in diode and ultraviolet light of the wavelength 395 nm is emitted from the built-in diode, As a result, holes are driven out from the interface of the gate insulating film and the silicon carbide layer, enabling interface traps to be reduced. Therefore, even when the threshold voltage of the silicon carbide MOSFET varies, in the inverter circuit of the silicon carbide MOSFET, the threshold voltage may be returned to the initial state and the threshold voltage of the silicon carbide MOSFET may be stabilized.

(44) The silicon carbide MOSFET inverter circuit according to the embodiments of the present invention achieves an effect in that interface traps at the interface of the gate insulating film and the silicon carbide layer are reduced, enabling the threshold voltage to be stabilized.

(45) As described, the inverter circuit of the silicon carbide MOSFET of the present invention is useful for power converting equipment and power supply devices such as in various industrial machines using an inverter circuit in which a diode is connected in reverse parallel to the silicon carbide MOSFET.

(46) Although the invention has been described with respect to a specific embodiment for a complete and clear disclosure, the appended claims are not to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodying all modifications and alternative constructions that may occur to one skilled in the art which fairly fall within the basic teaching herein set forth.