In response to the Air Force SBIR topic AF01-169, Sterling Semiconductor proposes a 6-month, $100K program to establish the feasibility of the materials technology necessary for growth of complex, thick (> 100 mm), highly pure silicon carbide (SiC) device structures in a single growth run. Growth of complex device structures in a single run will greatly reduce the cost of SiC epitaxial growth over existing SiC epitaxial technology by improving yield and throughput. The capability to grow these complex pnpn or npn structures without growth interruption will also have system impact by dramatically improving performance of SiC power devices. These improvements, when combined with Sterling's leadership in SiC wafer technology, will enable the high-yield manufacturing of 5kV switching devices with high switching speed and low on-resistance. Sterling will utilize this technology during Phase I to produce a 5 kV/10A inverter using 4H-SiC rectifiers and Si switching devices Future power systems, as envisioned by the Department of Defense (DoD), will require lighweight, high-density power converters (>1 MW) for operation at high temperature in hostile enviornments. Active devices with high-voltage (25kV-100kV) and high-current (50A-1000A) capability are required for such power converters.
