Semiconductors are the key to increasingly efficient automotive and industrial electronics. As silicon electronics gradually reach their physical limits with the ever-increasing power density, it is necessary to develop new materials for power electronics. This in turn requires new characterization and modeling methods that allow the transition to new semiconductor materials, such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), as well as novel 3D stack integration concepts with metal layers.

The goal of the recently launched EU project “AddMorePower” is therefore to further develop characterization methods of nanoanalytics as well as correlated modeling techniques for power semiconductor technology. Among other things, this will enable a detailed characterization of crucial defects in the crystal lattice of SiC and GaN and an exploration of their influence on the system properties. 

For this purpose, research centers (Fraunhofer IKTS, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Academy Ved Ceske republiky), industrial partners (Infineon), the industrial competence center KAI, universities (KU Leuven and Université de Lorraine) and SMEs (deepXscan and Technikon) are working together. The consortium is coordinated by Fraunhofer IKTS, which will contribute to the project mainly with its nanoanalytics competences, in particular with laboratory-based TXM (X-ray microscopy) and nano XCT (nano X-ray tomography) for in-situ and correlative tests as well as SEM and TEM.

The four-year AddMorePower project started in January 2023 and has a budget of 5.9 million euros. During the project lifetime, publications and FAIR Open Data as well as characterization and modeling workflows will be made freely available for industrial and academic use.