Impact of switching frequencies on the TID response of SiC power MOSFETs

Different switching frequencies are required when SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) are switching in a space environment. In this study, the total ionizing dose (TID) responses of SiC power MOSFETs are investigated under different switching frequencies from 1 kHz to 10 MHz. A significant shift was observed in the threshold voltage as the frequency increased, which resulted in premature failure of the drain-source breakdown voltage and drain-source leakage current. The degradation is attributed to the high activation and low recovery rates of traps at high frequencies. The results of this study suggest that a targeted TID irradiation test evaluation method can be developed according to the actual switching frequency of SiC power MOSFETs.