High Temperature Bipolar SiC Power Integrated Circuits

• Main Author: Kargarrazi, Saleh
• Format: Doctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: KTH, Integrerade komponenter och kretsar 2017
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-201618; http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:isbn:978-91-7729-262-3

In the recent decade, integrated electronics in wide bandgap semiconductor technologies such as Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC) have been shown to be viable candidates in extreme environments (e.g high-temperature and high radiation). Such electronics have applications in down-hole drilling, automobile-, air- and space- industries. In this thesis, integrated circuits (ICs) in bipolar 4H-SiC for high-temperature power applications are explored. In particular, device modelling, circuit design, layout design, and measurements are discussed for a range of circuits including operational amplifiers, linear voltage regulators, drivers for power switches, and power converters with integrated control. The circuits were demonstrated and tested from 25 °C up to 500 °C. Circuit design in bipolar SiC technology involves challenges such as the fabrication process’ uncertainties and incomplete models of the devices. Furthermore, high temperature modelling of the integrated devices is needed for circuit design and simulation. From the circuit design viewpoint, techniques such as negative-feedback, temperature-insensitive biasing, buffering and Darlington stages, and amplifiers with fewer gain stages, were shown to be useful for high-temperature IC design in bipolar SiC. It is shown that the linear voltage regulator can be improved by using a tailored high-current lateral Darlington power device in the same fabrication process. This results in a high temperature high current power supply solution. Moreover, the drivers can be improved by design in order to provide higher voltage levels and peak currents for the power devices (bipolar and MOSFET based). In addition, a DC-DC converter with fully integrated hysteretic control is designed taking advantage of several sub-circuits such as operational amplifier, Schmitt trigger and driver for the power switch. This study is followed by preliminary experimental results for the converter and controller IC. === <p>QC 20170213</p>