Radiation-Tolerant High-Voltage, High-Power Electronics WBG Drain Engineered Transistor

In this project, we propose a 1200 Volt Silicon super-junction power transistor with a Silicon- Carbide engineered drain to take advantage of the low on resistance performance from Wide Band Gap (WBG) materials. By further merging high volume Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) manufacturing techniques to enable structures robust to harsh space radiation environments a new class of vertical-power transistors are created. The merger of SJMOS structures-MEMS manufacturing techniques- WBG material creates SMW concepts enabling devices that in this case have the potential to sustain 1200V blocking with no heavy-ion-induced permanent destructive effects upon exposure to high energy radiation of 87 Mev-cm2/mg while delivering Rdson of 90milliohms at ID max = 40A. IceMOS will partner with the School of Earth and Space Exploration at ASU to develop and demonstrate a novel SMW Silicon-Carbide Drain Engineered rad-hard super-junction Transistor. Phase I of the project will include design modeling, device simulation and analysis of SJMOS structures embedded in hetro-junction Si/Si C material to create a Silicon-Carbide WBG drain. This SMW concept device will be designed to block 1200V with low on-resistance. Additionally, several radiation hardening techniques applied to the Silicon super-junction structure and Si/Si C hetro-junction substrate to enhance SEE and TID performance will be investigated. A 1200V SJMOS baseline device will be fabricated and characterized for radiation effects. In Phase II with the physical mechanisms limiting heavy-ion-induced permanent destructive effects upon exposure to high energy radiation of 87 Mev-cm2/mg now understood from phase I and addressed, a device designed to be capable of 1200V blocking and high current handling (40A) will be fabricated. and prototypes tested to demonstrate potential Rdson of 90 milliohms for improved power system efficiency. Targeted radiation hardness performance is SEE = 87 Mev-cm2/mg and TID = 300 Krads for this device.

High voltage power distribution on spacecraft allows designers to eliminate power conversion components, which would significantly reduce spacecraft volume and weight. Such power distribution systems require enabling innovative products for increasing operational lifetime, radiation tolerance, and reliability in the extreme space environment, the proposed SMW Transistor is novel device that will lead to smaller, lighter weight and more efficient power supplies for space systems.

Power electronic systems must be efficient, compact, and less costly to meet society’s increasing demand in energy conservation. The key technology that delivers the performance required by spacecraft power systems is SMW Transistor. Commercial applications for these SMW devices include LED Lighting, AC/DC power stages in Data Centers Servers for Cloud Computing and Fast Battery Charging for EV.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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