Development of nanodielectrics for power electronics

Power electronics used in particular for the electric vehicle requires the fabrication of smaller and smaller devices able of sustaining high currents and high working voltages. The miniaturization of these components requires the development of new dielectric materials with high breakdown field. A promising approach is to combine the high dielectric constant of inorganic oxides and the breakdown resistance of a good electrical insulator by realizing multilayers or nanocomposites. The objective of this internship is to elaborate thin films of these dielectrics by vacuum deposition techniques, to characterize them and to correlate the electrical properties (in particular the breakdown field) to the composition and structure of the materials and stacks. This work will also allow to study physics of these materials which is still poorly understood especially when approaching nanometric dimensions. During this internship, the student will have access to several tools for thin film deposition (Atomic Layer Deposition and Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) as well as to a large panel of characterization techniques (ellipsometry, IR spectroscopy, contact angle, microscopy, chemical composition analyses). Capacitors will be fabricated and electrically characterized to determine the main parameters (permittivity, dielectric losses, leakage current and breakdown field). All these characterizations, possibly associated with simulation, will allow us to understand and identify the best approach to obtain the best compromise between high dielectric strength and high capacity. The final objective of this project will be to integrate the most performing material for the realization of integrated capacitors for power electronics.

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