Optically controlled silicon carbide and related wide-bandgap transistors and thyristors
AssigneeSs Sc IP, LLC
InventorMichael S. Mazzola
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An optically active material is used to create power devices and circuits having significant performance advantages over conventional methods for affecting optical control of power electronics devices and circuits. A silicon-carbide optically active material is formed by compensating shallow donors with the boron related D-center. The resulting material can be n-type or p-type but it is distinguished from other materials by the ability to induce persistent photoconductivity in it when illuminated by electromagnetic radiation with a photon energy in excess of the threshold energy required to photoexcite electrons from the D-center to allowed states close to the conduction band edge, which varies from polytype to polytype.
Claims20
A device comprising:
- a substrate;
- an optically active, semi-insulating silicon carbide (SiC) layer applied over the substrate, the SiC layer having boron-related D-center defects formed therein;
- and
- an electromagnetic radiation source, the electromagnetic radiation source in optical communication with the SiC layer such that electromagnetic radiation produced by the electromagnetic radiation source is directed onto a surface of the SiC layer;
- wherein the electromagnetic radiation source produces electromagnetic radiation having at least a first wavelength that stimulates photoconductivity in the SiC layer and a second wavelength that quenches photoconductivity in the SiC layer.
A device comprising:
- a substrate;
- a drift layer disposed on the substrate;
- a channel layer disposed on the drift layer;
- an optically active, semi-insulating silicon carbide (SiC) layer applied over the substrate, the SiC layer having boron-related D-center defects formed therein;
- and
- an electromagnetic radiation source, the electromagnetic radiation source in optical communication with the SiC layer such that electromagnetic radiation produced by the electromagnetic radiation source is directed onto a surface of the SiC layer;
- wherein the electromagnetic radiation source produces electromagnetic radiation having at least a first wavelength that stimulates photoconductivity in the SiC layer and a second wavelength that quenches photoconductivity in the SiC layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.