Some aspects on ruggedness of SiC power devices

•Regarding surge current and short circuit, SiC have significant advantages compared to Si.•The same holds for static avalanche, dynamic avalanche, and second breakdown.•Comparing cosmic ray stability of Si and SiC, there are no unique results.•Regarding thermal mechanical stress on interface materials, SiC is more challenging.•SiC devices need a packaging technology with increased reliability.

This article is on effects that can destroy SiC power semiconductor devices. The failure physics in SiC devices are discussed based on the well understood effects in silicon devices. In some device properties, such as surge current, short circuit, static avalanche and dynamic avalanche, SiC has significant possible advantages compared to silicon. For cosmic ray stability, there are no unique results. Regarding thermal mechanical stress on interface materials, SiC is more challenging. The same may hold for electrical stress in passivation layers at the junction termination.