Edge termination design that raises SiC and GaN breakdown
This patent covers a novel edge termination structure for power semiconductor devices that uses two different semiconductor materials at the boundary of a metal contact. By engineering a region of a different material beneath and around the metal contact's edge, where charge density gradually decreases with distance from that edge, the structure can reduce the intense electric fields that naturally concentrate at contact edges in power devices. This approach — mixing materials at the termination zone rather than using a single semiconductor throughout — is the key innovation, as edge electric field crowding is a primary failure and leakage mechanism in high-voltage power transistors and diodes. The technique is broadly applicable to wide-bandgap semiconductor devices such as those made from silicon carbide or gallium nitride, which are central to modern high-efficiency power electronics.
What you could build
A fabrication process or design kit for high-voltage power switches and diodes — particularly SiC or GaN devices used in EV inverters, industrial motor drives, and grid converters — that device manufacturers or foundries would license to improve device breakdown ratings and reliability without adding process complexity.
Who in Virginia should care
Defense and power electronics firms in Northern Virginia and the Hampton Roads corridor — such as those supplying Navy shipboard power systems or DoD electrification programs — alongside semiconductor research groups at Virginia Tech and George Mason.
Readiness: Concept
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Yuhao ZHANG, Ming XIAO, Boyan WANG
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed December 13, 2023
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20250203959A1
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.