Failure Mechanism Analysis of Single-Event Effect in 4H-SiC Inverters

The failure mechanism of single-event burnout (SEB) in 4H-SiC inverter is studied by experiments and simulations. The most sensitive location for heavy ions striking in the 4H-SiC inverter circuit has been identified by pulsed laser experiments. Experimental results demonstrate that the maximum linear energy transfer (LET) value that the 4H-SiC inverter circuit can withstand is exceeding 64.07 MeV<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\cdot $ </tex-math></inline-formula> cm²/mg but not surpassing 92.25 MeV<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\cdot $ </tex-math></inline-formula> cm²/mg. Sentaurus TCAD is utilized to reveal the failure mechanism. The incident heavy-ion radiation triggers the activation of parasitic p-n-p and n-p-n transistors, resulting in a latch-up phenomenon within the circuit, consequently leading to the circuit burnout. The revealed failure mechanism gives a guidance for further hardened circuits design.