Temperature-Dependent Breakdown-Voltage of Wide- and Ultrawide-Bandgap Semiconductors

This is the first part of a three-paper series that investigates, in turn, the breakdown voltage (${V}_{\text {BR}}$), the specificon-state resistance (${R}_{\mathrm {on}\text {, {SP}}}$), and the optimal trade-off between${V}_{\text {BR}}$and${R}_{\mathrm {on}\text {, {SP}}}$—all versus temperature for the various semiconductor materials of interest for vertical, unipolar power switching devices. In this first paper, the impact ionization coefficients (IICs) of both electrons and holes were calibrated as a function of the temperature and the electric field for both wide bandgap (WBG) and ultrawide-bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors and then applied to calculate the temperature dependence of${V}_{\text {BR}}$in those materials. The model used for the IICs, a modified Thornber model, enabled the IIC parameterization based on real physical constants for each material of interest. The parametrization for the UWBG materials is less certain, given either the scarcity or inconsistency of the reported results. This work focused on the 300–600 K temperature range for all materials considered.