5-5-6 SiC Device Packaging and System Considerations

Hostile-environment SiC semiconductor devices and ICs are of little advantage if they cannot be reliably packaged and connected to form a complete system capable of hostile-environment operation. With proper material selection, modifications of existing IC packaging technologies appear feasible for nonpower SiC circuit packaging up to 300°C . Recent work is beginning to address the needs of the most demanding aerospace electronic applications, whose requirements include operation in highvibration 500–600°C oxidizing-ambient environments, sometimes with very high power . For example, some prototype electronic packages and circuit boards that can withstand over a thousand hours at 500°C have been demonstrated. Harsh-environment passive components such as inductors, capacitors, and transformers, must also be developed for operation in demanding conditions before the full system-level benefits of SiC electronics discussed in Section 5.3 can be successfully realized.