Title of Presentation

“Power Semiconductor Devices ‐Key for Effective Use of Electric Energy‐”

Semiconductor devices have become a core of electronics since the invention of transistors in the middle of the 20th century, and they have brought about a big paradigm shift for the world to information society powered by computers and networks. The development of society requires a great deal of energy, and in particular, the consumption of electric energy, which is easy to access, continues to increase with the shift to information society. Given the importance of environmental conservation, simply increasing electric power sources should not be the sufficient solution. Today, society requires people to reduce their use of energy and to use electric energy more efficiently. Specifically, the latter produces a significant impact on reducing energy usage, making it quite important. Power semiconductor devices are essential for the effective use of electric energy, and in recent years their evolution has been the center of great interest.

In my lecture, I will provide an overview of power semiconductor devices and power electronics systems used to convert electric energy, while introducing semiconductor materials used in each. Although silicon (Si) has played a starring role in power semiconductors conventionally, silicon carbide (SiC) has emerged from the standpoint of increasing the efficiency of electric energy usage, and this material is greatly improving the performance. I will introduce practical examples of compact, high efficiency and simple cooling SiC power devices that are used in various electrical and electronic apparatus, home appliances, industrial machines, emergency power supplies, trains, power transmission and distribution systems, and automobiles. Furthermore, gallium nitride (GaN) devices are becoming a target of research and development now. I will introduce the state-of-the-art power devices in an easy manner to understand, and share future prospects of this field including the latest information.

Profile

A brief Biography

1964	Master’s degree, Department of Electronic Engineering, Research Associate, School of Engineering, Kyoto University
1970	Doctoral degree, Kyoto University
1971	Associate Professor, Kyoto University
1976 – 1977	Visiting Associate Professor, North Carolina State University, U.S.A.
1983	Professor, School of Engineering, Kyoto University,
1996	Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University
2003	Mandatory retirement, Emeritus Professor, Kyoto University
2004 – 2012	Director, Innovation Plaza Kyoto, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)

Details of selected Awards and Honors

1. The 1st Yamazaki Teiichi Prize in Semiconductor & Semiconductor Devices: Pioneer Work for High-quality Epitaxial Growth of Semiconductor Silicon Carbide and Power Devices
November 26, 2001

2. Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Prize (Contribution to Research and Development Award): Research on Silicon-Carbide Schottky Diode for Power Conversion
April 17, 2002

3. The Japan Society of Applied Physics Achievement Award (The 4th Annual Award): Pioneering Study on SiC Semiconductors and Devices
March 28, 2003

4. The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers Achievement Award: Fundamental Research on High quality Epitaxial Growth of Semiconductor Silicon Carbide in Semiconductors and Next Generation Electronic Devices.
May 29, 2003

5. SSDM 2005: Step-Controlled VPE Growth of SiC Single Crystals at Low Temperatures, SSDM 1987.8.22-24
September 13, 2005

6. The 2012 Asahi Prize: Pioneering Research on Silicon Carbide in Power Semiconductors
January 31, 2013

A list of selected Publications

1. Wide Gap Semiconductors –From Dawn to the Frontlines (Baifukan; 2013) (author and editor)

2. Semiconductor SiC Technology and Applications 2nd edition (Nikkan Kogyo Shimbunsha; 2011) (author and editor)

3. Semiconductor SiC Technology and Applications (Nikkan Kogyo Shimbunsha; 2003) (author and editor)

4. Silicon Carbide -Recent Major Advances- (Springer; 2003) (author and editor)

5. Silicon Carbide Vols. I & II (Akademie Verlag; 1997) (author and editor)

Academic Papers

6. Technological Breakthroughs in Growth Control of Silicon Carbide for High Power Electronic Devices
H. Matsunami
Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 43, 6835-6847 (2004).

7. Hetero-Interface Properties of SiO2/4H-SiC on Various Crystal Orientations
H. Matsunami, T. Kimoto, and H. Yano
IEICE Trans, Electron., E86-C, 1943-1948 (2003).

8. Present Status and Future Prospects of SiC Crystal Growth and Device Technology
H. Matsunami and T. Kimoto
Trans. IEICE of Japan, J-85, 409-415 (2002) (in Japanese).

9. Epitaxial Growth of SiC on Non-Typical Orientations and MOS Interfaces
H. Matsunami, T. Kimoto, and H. Yano
Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 640, H3.4.1-H3.4.10 (2001).

10. High channel mobility in inversion layers of 4H-SiC MOSFETs by utilizing (11-20) face
H. Yano, T. Hirao, T. Kimoto, H. Matsunami, K. Asano, and Y. Sugawara
IEEE Electron Device Lett. 20, 611-613 (1999).

11. Single crystal growth of SiC and electronic devices
A. Itoh and H. Matsunami
Crit. Rev. in Solid State and Mat. Sci. 22, 111-197 (1997).

12. Step-controlled epitaxial growth of SiC: high quality homoepitaxy
H. Matsunami and T. Kimoto
Mat. Sci. & Eng. R20, 125-166 (1997).

13. High-Performance of High-Voltage 4H-SiC Schottky Barrier Diodes
A. Itoh, T. Kimoto, and H. Matsunami
IEEE Electron Device Lett., 16, 280-282 (1995).

14. Progress in Epitaxial Growth of SiC
H. Matsunami
Physica B, 185, 65-74 (1993).

15. Step-Controlled VPE Growth of SiC Single Crystals at Low Temperatures
N.Kuroda, K.Shibahara, W-S. Yoo, S.Nishino and H.Matsunami
Ext. Abst. of the 19th Conference on Solid State Devices and Materials. Tokyo, 1987, 227-230