This thesis aims to bring an understanding to the silicon carbide (SiC) bipolar junction transistor (BJT). SiC power devices are superior to the silicon IGBT in several ways. They are for instance, able to operate with higher efficiency, at higher frequencies, and at higher junction temperatures. From a system point of view the SiC power device could decrease the cost and complexity of cooling, reduce the size and weight of the system, and enable the system to endure harsher environments. The three main SiC power device designs are discussed with a focus on the BJT. The SiC BJT is compared to the SiC junction field-effect transistor (JFET) and the metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). The potential of employing SiC power devices in applications, ranging from induction heating to high-voltage direct current (HVDC), is presented. The theory behind the state-of-the-art dual-source (2SRC) base driver that was presented by Rabkowski et al. a few years ago is described. This concept of proportional base drivers is introduced with a focus on the discretized proportional base drivers (DPBD). By implementing the DPBD concept and building a prototype it is shown that the steady-state consumption of the base driver can be reduced considerably.  The aspects of the reverse conduction of the SiC BJT are presented. It is shown to be of importance to consider the reduced voltage drop over the base-emitter junction. Last the impact of SiC unipolar and bipolar devices in series-resonant (SLR) converters is presented. Two full-bridges are designed and constructed, one with SiC MOSFETs utilizing the body diode for reverse conduction during the dead-time, and the second with SiC BJTs with anti-parallel SiC Schottky diodes. It is found that the SiC power devices, with their absence of tail current, are ideal devices to fully utilize the soft-switching properties that the SLR converters offer. The SiC MOSFET benefits from its possibility to utilize reverse conduction with a low voltage drop. It is also found that the size of capacitance of the snubbers can be reduced compare to state-of-the-art silicon technology. High switching frequencies of 200 kHz are possible while still keeping the losses low. A dead-time control strategy for each device is presented. The dual control (DuC) algorithm is tested with the SiC devices and compared to frequency modulation (FM). The analytical investigations presented in this thesis are confirmed by experimental results on several laboratory prototype converters. / <p>QC 20150529</p>

Ce travail porte sur la caractérisation structurale et optique d'échantillons de SiC. Les échantillons étudiés ont été répartis en trois groupes : des échantillons massifs, des couches épitaxiales épaisses et enfin des couches minces. La croissance des échantillons massifs a été réalisée avec la technique CF-PVT, utilisant une géométrie « d'étranglement ». L'objectif était de filtrer les défauts afin de créer des germes de 3C de haute pureté. La croissance de des couches épaisses par sublimation avait comme objectif la maitrise d'un dopage résiduel faible de type n et p pour des applications composants. Enfin, dans le but de réaliser des composants de type LED blanche des impuretés Ga ont été introduites dans des couches minces épitaxiées par VLS afin de créer des échantillons fortement dopé de type p. Tous ces échantillons ont été étudiés par photoluminescence, micro-Raman, SIMS et microscopie électronique à transmission. Il a été possible de déterminer la concentration d'impuretés et d'identifier le caractère n ou p de ces échantillons. L'analyse des échantillons a été faite en utilisant à la fois l'observation des défauts structurels et les informations obtenues à partir des techniques de caractérisation optique. Nous avons pu obtenir des informations sur les paramètres physiques de 3C-SiC, comme l'énergie de liaison de Ga et Al, la structure fine des excitons liés à l'Al et celle des paires donneurs accepteurs Al-N et Ga-N. Enfin l'apparition d'un nouveau défaut de structure appelée le « fourfold twin » a été observée. / The main topic of this thesis is the structural and optical characterization of SiC samples. The samples were divided in three groups: bulk, thick and thin epilayers. The bulk samples were grown with the CF-PVT technique and used a modified crystal holder geometry. The objective was to filter the defects to and create high purity and quality seeds of 3C-SiC. The thick epilayers were grown with the sublimation epitaxy technique, trying to demonstrate the creation of low impurity n and p type layers for device applications. Finally the thin epilayers were grown with the vapour-liquid-solid technique and doped with Ga impurities in an effort to create either heavily p-type doped samples and components for white LED applications. The samples were studied with low temperature photoluminescence, micro-Raman, SIMS and transmission electron microscopy. With the help of these techniques it was possible to determine the impurity concentration and identif y the n or p character of these samples. A qualitative analysis of the quality of the samples was done using both the observation of the structural defects and the information from the optical characterization techniques. We were able to acquire information about physical parameters of 3C-SiC like the binding energy of Ga and Al, the Al bound exciton fine structure and the Al-N and Ga-N donor acceptor pair fine structure. The appearance of a new structural defect called the fourfold twin was observed and presented.

Wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium-nitride (GaN) allow higher voltage ratings, lower on-state voltage drops, higher switching frequencies, and higher maximum temperatures. All these advantages make them an attractive choice when high-power density and high-efficiency converters are targeted. Two different gate-driver designs for SiC power devices are presented. First, a dual-function gate-driver for a power module populated with SiC junction field-effect transistors that finds a trade-off between fast switching speeds and a low oscillative performance has been presented and experimentally verified. Second, a gate-driver for SiC metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors with a short-circuit protection scheme that is able to protect the converter against short-circuit conditions without compromising the switching performance during normal operation is presented and experimentally validated. The benefits and issues of using parallel-connection as the design strategy for high-efficiency and high-power converters have been presented. In order to evaluate parallel connection, a 312 kVA three-phase SiC inverter with an efficiency of 99.3 % has been designed, built, and experimentally verified. If parallel connection is chosen as design direction, an undesired trade-off between reliability and efficiency is introduced. A reliability analysis has been performed, which has shown that the gate-source voltage stress determines the reliability of the entire system. Decreasing the positive gate-source voltage could increase the reliability without significantly affecting the efficiency. If high-temperature applications are considered, relatively little attention has been paid to passive components for harsh environments. This thesis also addresses high-temperature operation. The high-temperature performance of two different designs of inductors have been tested up to 600_C. Finally, a GaN power field-effect transistor was characterized down to cryogenic temperatures. An 85 % reduction of the on-state resistance was measured at −195_C. Finally, an experimental evaluation of a 1 kW singlephase inverter at low temperatures was performed. A 33 % reduction in losses compared to room temperature was achieved at rated power. / <p>QC 20160922</p>

Le carbure de silicium est un matériau semi-conducteur à grande bande d’énergie interdite possédant des propriétés exceptionnelles en termes de tenue en température, de résistance aux radiations, de stabilité chimique. En particulier il pourrait permettre la réalisation de détecteurs ultra-violet fonctionnant en environnement extrême (fortes températures et niveaux de radiations élevés) tels les environnements spatiaux. Le polytype 3C, avec un gap intermédiaire pourrait également être utilisé dans le domaine photovoltaïque. Le présent travail propose d’étudier le carbure de silicium à la fois sous l’aspect composant et sous l’aspect matériau. Une étude de la réponse spectrale de photodiodes UV (de type pn et Schottky) en fonction de la température et de l’irradiation est présentée. Un nouveau type de cellules solaires à hétérojonctions 3C-SiC/Si est étudié. Enfin, un système de mesure de la durée de vie des porteurs minoritaires dans le SiC-4H est réalisé et les résultats commentés. / Silicon carbide is a large bandgap semiconductor presenting outstanding properties in terms of temperature, radiations and chemical hardness. In particular it could allow the fabrication of ultra-violet detectors, able to work in harsh environments such as for space aplications. The 3C polytype , with it’s intermediate bandgap, could also be used in the photovoltaic field. The present work aims to study both the material and the application aspects of silicon carbide. A study of the spectral response of both pn and Schottky photodiodes with respect to the temperature and irradiation is presented. A new type of 3C-SiC/Si heterojunction solar cell is studied. Finally, a minority carrier lifetime measurement system is realised ant the results presented.

L’avion plus électrique demande des modules de puissances de plus en plus performants dans les domaines de la fiabilité et de la maîtrise de la durée de vie restante. Le remplacement des systèmes hydrauliques et pneumatiques par des actionneurs électriques et leurs convertisseurs associés est, aujourd’hui, un moyen efficace de réduire les coûts de maintenance et la consommation de carburant. L’ajout de composantes électriques est également un bon moyen d’augmenter la fiabilité des systèmes. La fiabilité est toujours étudiée à partir de contraintes cycliques accélérées. La tendance actuelle est d’embarquer des fonctions de suivi de l’état de santé dans les modules de puissance pour permettre la prédiction de la durée de vie restante. Cette approche implique des modifications du circuit afin de mettre en place des capteurs et est souvent dédiée à un mode de défaillance en particulier. Cette thèse propose une approche par apprentissage du suivi de l’état de santé de modules de puissance à base de MOSFET en carbure de silicium. Une large étude bibliographique a permis de créer et de réaliser un banc de test instrumenté permettant de mettre en œuvre des défaillances attendues dans les modules de puissance mais aussi d’enregistrer un grand nombre de paramètres électriques au cours de la vie du module. Ces paramètres montrent une évolution au cours du vieillissement du module en fonction des modes de défaillances. Un modèle de réseaux neuronaux s’appuie sur la dérive de ces paramètres pour établir le pronostic de durée de vie restante d’un module de puissance à chaque instant de son utilisation normale / More electrical aircraft requires power modules of higher performances, especially in terms of reliability with a control of lifetime. The replacement of hydraulic and pneumatic systems by electric actuators and their associated converters is the present trend to reduce maintenance cost and fuel consumption. Adding more electric components is also thought as a good way to increase reliability in systems. Reliability is still analysed from accelerated stress cycles. A large volume of data must be obtained in various conditions to assert a pertinent extrapolation of remaining lifetime during operation. A trend is to embed some condition monitoring functions in power modules to help predict the remaining lifetime. This approach is the field of hardware developments with respect to sensors and decorrelation methods but mainly dedicated to one particular failure. This thesis presents a learning approach of silicon carbide MOSFET based power modules condition monitoring. A large literature study has led to the elaboration of a test plan and an instrumented test bench. This test bench allows an accelerated lifespan of power module and an on-line recording of several electrical parameters. These parameters shows a drift according to the power module ageing. A neural network model based on these parameters drifts has been constructed to estimate the remaining useful lifetime of a power module in normal operation

O presente trabalho, realizado junto ao Grupo de Novos Materiais e Dispositivos (GNMD), no Laboratório de Microeletrônica do Departamento de Sistemas Eletrônicos da Escola Politécnica da USP, visou determinar algumas das propriedades termo-mecânicas de materiais depositados pela técnica de plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) que são importantes para o desenvolvimento de sistemas microeletromecânicos (MEMS). O módulo de elasticidade, a tensão mecânica residual, o coeficiente de expansão térmica e a condutividade térmica de filmes finos de carbeto de silício amorfo hidrogenado (a-SiC:H) e de oxinitreto de silício (SiOxNy) foram estudados. Medidas de nanoindentação e ressonância de cantilevers foram utilizadas para a obtenção do módulo de elasticidade e os resultados obtidos foram similares (75 e 91 GPa) pelos dois métodos e compatíveis com valores encontrados na literatura. Além disso, obteve-se o módulo de elasticidade de filmes de cromo (285 GPa). A tensão mecânica residual dos filmes utilizados neste trabalho foi medida através da curvatura do substrato induzida pela deposição dos filmes e pela deformação de cantilevers. O valor médio da tensão mecânica, obtido pela curvatura do substrato, variou de -69 MPa até -1750 MPa, mostrando grande dependência das condições de deposição dos filmes. O método que utiliza a deformação de cantilevers possibilitou a obtenção do gradiente de tensão mecânica, que também mostrou uma dependência das condições de deposição, sendo sempre o a-SiC:H quase estequiométrico o menos tensionado. O coeficiente de expansão térmica foi medido utilizando a técnica do gradiente de temperatura e o valor obtido foi similar a valores reportados na literatura para o carbeto de silício cristalino. Para um a-SiC:H quase estequiométrico foi obtido um coeficiente de expansão térmica de 3,41 m/oC, enquanto para um a-SiC:H rico em carbono o valor foi de 4,36 m/oC. Também foi verificado que a variação da resistência do cromo em função da temperatura é pequena, não permitindo sua utilização como sensor de temperatura e inviabilizando a obtenção da condutividade térmica dos filmes estudados. Além disso, foram apresentados trabalhos promissores, mostrando o potencial dos materiais estudados para o desenvolvimento de MEMS. Nesses trabalhos, demonstrou-se a viabilidade de integrar microestruturas atuadas termicamente e guias de onda ópticos, utilizando os materiais estudados neste trabalho. Foram fabricados chaves ópticas, portas lógicas ópticas, fontes de luz integradas e acoplamento das fontes de luz com guias de onda. / This work, realized at the New Materials and Devices Group (GNMD) at the Microelectronics Laboratory of the Department of Electronic Systems of the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo, focused at the determination of thermo-mechanical properties of materials deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) that are important for the development of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The Youngs modulus, the residual stress, the coefficient of thermal expansion and the thermal conductivity of amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) and silicon oxynitride (SiOxNy) thin films were studied. Nanoindentation and the resonance of cantilevers were used to obtain the Youngs modulus. The results were similar (75 and 91 GPa) with both methods and compatible with literature values. Further, the Youngs modulus of chromium films was also obtained (285 GPa). The residual stress of thin films was obtained through the substrate curvature induced by the film deposition and through the deformation of cantilever beams. The residual stress, obtained through the substrate curvature, varied between -69 MPa and -1750 MPa, showing great dependence on the deposition conditions of these materials. The deformation of cantilevers allowed the determination of the stress gradient and it was also affected by the deposition conditions. In all stress measurements the near stoichiometry a-SiC:H film was less stressed. The coefficient of thermal expansion was measured using the temperature gradient technique and the obtain values were similar to those reported in the literature for crystalline silicon carbide. For a near stoichiometry a-SiC:H film, a value of 3.41 m/oC was obtained, while a carbon rich film showed a thermal expansion coefficient of 4.36 m/oC. It was also verified that the variation of the chromium resistance as a function of temperature is small. This did not allow the utilization of chromium as a temperature sensor, which prevented the obtention of the thermal conductivity of the studied films. Also, some promising works were presented, showing potential applications of the studied materials for the development of MEMS. In these works, the viability of integration of thermal actuated microstructures and optical waveguides was demonstrated. In these works, optical switches, optical logic gates, integrated light sources and coupling of integrated light sources with optical waveguides were presented.

L'Institut franco-allemand de recherche de Saint-Louis (ISL) développe des alimentations de forte puissance pour des applications d'électronique impulsionnelle. En vue de réduire les pertes, l'encombrement et le poids de ces systèmes, des thyristors en carbure de silicium pourraient à l'avenir remplacer les interrupteurs en silicium actuels. C'est dans le cadre de la collaboration entre le laboratoire Ampère et l'ISL que s'inscrit cette thèse sur ce thème de recherche. Les propriétés physiques du carbure de silicium et les composants réalisés par différents laboratoires universitaires et industriels ont démontré les aptitudes de ce matériau pour les fortes puissances. Le travail réalisé au cours de cette thèse a permis de concevoir de réaliser et de caractériser des thyristors optiques en carbure de silicium. Dans un premier temps, le travail de conception, basé sur des simulations éléments finis, a permis d'optimiser deux protections périphériques, la JTE multiple gravée et la JTE assistée par anneaux gravée, toutes deux robustes vis à vis des incertitudes technologiques sur la gravure, et ayant la particularité de ne pas recourir à l'implantation ionique. Deux séries de thyristors optiques ont ainsi été fabriquées. Le premier lot avait pour but de valider la faisabilité du déclenchement optique de thyristor avec des diodes électroluminescentes UV. Le deuxième lot a permis de mettre en œuvre la JTE assistée par anneaux. Une tenue en tension maximale de 6,3 kV a été mesurée sur ces thyristors. Ces composants sont aussi destinés à évaluer les possibilités en termes d'impulsion de courant des thyristors SiC. A ce titre, deux premières caractérisations ont été effectuées et les dispositifs ont été capables de passer un courant crête de 156 A (soit une densité de courant de 15,6 kA.cm-2) sur une impulsion de 10 μs de large et 40 A (4 kA.cm-2) sur une impulsion de 650 microsecondes de large. Ces résultats montrent une progression significative par rapport aux précédents travaux réalisés sur le thyristor SiC au laboratoire. Ils valident également la bonne stabilité de la technologie de fabrication de l'ISL (gravure, contact ohmique). Cependant, le rendement de fabrication devra être amélioré par le travail mené actuellement par l'ISL, sur la passivation des composants. / In order to reduce the losses, the weight and the volume of the power supply of its pulse power systems, the French German research institute of Saint-Louis (ISL) intends to replace the currently used silicon switches by silicon carbide thyristors. This work, in the frame of the collaboration between Ampere laboratory and ISL, deals with the design the fabrication and the characterization of light triggered thyristors in silicon carbide. In the first place, two device terminations, the graded etched JTE and the guard ring assisted etched JTE, have been optimized using finite element simulation. These two structures are tolerant to technological uncertainties and don’t need ion implantation. Two series of light triggered thyristors were also fabricated. Concerning the first run, the light triggering of SiC thyristor with UV light-emitting diodes was demonstrated. The guard ring assisted etched JTE was tested on the second run. The best blocking voltage measured on devices with this termination was 6.3 kV. These devices also aim at assessing the pulse current capabilities of silicon carbide thyristors. To this end, two characterizations were performed and a peak current of 156 A (15.6 kA/cm2) was reached with a pulse width of 10 IJS and 40 A (4 kA/cm2) with a pulse width of 650 IJS. These results show a significant progress compared to previous achievements of the laboratory on silicon carbide thyristor. They also validate the good stability of the fabrication technology of the ISL cleanroom (Etching process, ohm le contact). However, the fabrication yield needs to be improved by the optimization of the device passivation, which is currently under progress at ISL.

Nous avons pour objectif de jeter les bases d’une technologie en totale rupture avec celles existantes pour la fabrication d’une nouvelle génération de composants électroniques à base du Carbure de Silicium pour les applications à très hautes températures (jusqu’à 600°C). Cette nouvelle technologie est basée sur l'emploi d'une nouvelle génération de matériaux pour les contacts ohmiques haute température. Nous avons ciblé la phase Ti3SiC2, qui est une phase céramique/métallique, pour former un bon contact ohmique stable et fiable à haute et très haute température. A savoir que l’aspect céramique est nécessaire pour assurer une bonne stabilité thermique à haute température, et l’aspect métallique est nécessaire pour obtenir des bonnes propriétés électriques (bonne conductivité électrique, faible résistance électrique…). Dans le but d’élaborer le Ti3SiC2 sur SiC, un film mince de 200 nm d’un alliage TixAl1-x a été déposé sur SiC-4H suivit d’un recuit sous Ar. Dans cette étude, on a fait varier la concentration du Ti et d’Al dans le dépôt métallique (Ti20Al80, Ti30Al70, Ti50Al50 et Ti), et on a aussi varié la température de recuit de 900°C à 1200°C. Des analyses structurales comme le DRX, MET, MEB et XPS ont été effectuées après recuit. Pour caractériser électriquement la couche Ti3SiC2 synthétisée sur SiC, des motifs TLM ont été réalisés. Des caractérisations électriques à température ambiante et à très haute température (jusqu’à 600°C) ont été mis en œuvre pour chaque type de dépôt et par conséquence la hauteur de barrière de potentielle a été également déterminée. Enfin, pour étudier la stabilité thermique du Ti3SiC2 sur SiC, des tests de vieillissement ont été réalisé à 600°C sous Ar. / The growth of Ti3SiC2thin films was studied onto 4H-SiC (0 0 0 1) 8◦and 4◦-off substrates by thermalannealing of TixAl1−x(0.5 ≤ x ≤ 1) layers. The annealing time was fixed at 10 min under Argon atmosphere.The synthesis conditions were also investigated according to the annealing temperature (900–1200◦C)after deposition. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) show that thelayer of Ti3SiC2is epitaxially grown on the 4H-SiC substrate. In addition the interface looks sharp andsmooth with evidence of interfacial ordering. Moreover, during the annealing procedure, the formationof unwanted aluminum oxide was detected by using X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS); this layercan be removed by using a specific annealing procedure. Using TLM structures, the Specific Contact Resistance (SCR) at room temperature of all contacts was measured. The temperature dependence up to 600°C of the SCR of the best contacts was studied to understand the current mechanisms at the Ti3SiC2/SiC interface. Experimental results are in agreement with the thermionic field emission (TFE) theory. With this model, the barrier height of the contact varies between 0.71 to 0.85 eV.

Os sistemas elétricos de potência estão sujeitos a diversos tipos de sobretensões que podem causar desligamentos ou avarias nos equipamentos elétricos que o compõe, comprometendo a continuidade do fornecimento de energia elétrica aos consumidores e impactando negativamente nos índices de qualidade. Um dos dispositivos mais importantes utilizados na proteção destes equipamentos são os pára-raios, os quais podem ser classificados, no sistema elétrico brasileiro, em função de sua tecnologia: a primeira, mais antiga, utiliza carboneto de silício (SiC), a segunda e mais atual utiliza óxido de zinco (ZnO) em seus elementos internos. Os primeiros estão instalados há muitos anos, até mesmo acima de sua vida útil, sendo assim, podem apresentar falhas em campo durante a sua operação. Os pára-raios de SiC estão sendo gradativamente substituídos pelos de ZnO, pois seria economicamente inviável a sua substituição imediata. Por conseguinte, torna-se imprescindível o desenvolvimento de metodologias para avaliação do seu estado de degradação, a fim de evitar-se que estes equipamentos falhem no campo. A medição da corrente de fuga, analisando-se a sua componente de terceira harmônica, mostrou que podem obtidas informações importantes a respeito dos pára-raios de SiC, fornecendo subsídios para a elaboração de um programa de manutenção que priorize a retirada daqueles mais degradados. / Power systems are subject to many types of overvoltages that may provoke interruptions or damage in electrical equipments, compromising the continuity of electrical energy supply to consumers and impacting negatively the power quality indices. One of the most important device used to protect the electric equipments are the surge arresters, which may be classified, in Brazilian power system, by its technology: the first, more antiquated, using gapped silicon-carbide (SiC) surge arrester, and secondly and newer, zinc-oxide (ZnO) surge arrester. The devices of the first type are installed for many years, even above their lifetime, presenting, in such cases, failures in site while operating. The gapped silicon-carbide surge arresters have been substituted gradually by zinc-oxide surge arresters, because it would be economically impracticable to replace them immediately. Therefore, the development of methodologies to evaluate their degradations condition is necessary, in order to avoid the failure of these equipments in site. Measurements of leakage current with third order harmonic analysis showed that important information regarding gapped silicon carbide surge arresters may be obtained, providing subsidies to elaborate a program of maintenance that prioritize the replacement of the most degraded ones.

Os sistemas elétricos de potência estão sujeitos a diversos tipos de sobretensões que podem causar desligamentos ou avarias nos equipamentos elétricos que o compõe, comprometendo a continuidade do fornecimento de energia elétrica aos consumidores e impactando negativamente nos índices de qualidade. Um dos dispositivos mais importantes utilizados na proteção destes equipamentos são os pára-raios, os quais podem ser classificados, no sistema elétrico brasileiro, em função de sua tecnologia: a primeira, mais antiga, utiliza carboneto de silício (SiC), a segunda e mais atual utiliza óxido de zinco (ZnO) em seus elementos internos. Os primeiros estão instalados há muitos anos, até mesmo acima de sua vida útil, sendo assim, podem apresentar falhas em campo durante a sua operação. Os pára-raios de SiC estão sendo gradativamente substituídos pelos de ZnO, pois seria economicamente inviável a sua substituição imediata. Por conseguinte, torna-se imprescindível o desenvolvimento de metodologias para avaliação do seu estado de degradação, a fim de evitar-se que estes equipamentos falhem no campo. A medição da corrente de fuga, analisando-se a sua componente de terceira harmônica, mostrou que podem obtidas informações importantes a respeito dos pára-raios de SiC, fornecendo subsídios para a elaboração de um programa de manutenção que priorize a retirada daqueles mais degradados. / Power systems are subject to many types of overvoltages that may provoke interruptions or damage in electrical equipments, compromising the continuity of electrical energy supply to consumers and impacting negatively the power quality indices. One of the most important device used to protect the electric equipments are the surge arresters, which may be classified, in Brazilian power system, by its technology: the first, more antiquated, using gapped silicon-carbide (SiC) surge arrester, and secondly and newer, zinc-oxide (ZnO) surge arrester. The devices of the first type are installed for many years, even above their lifetime, presenting, in such cases, failures in site while operating. The gapped silicon-carbide surge arresters have been substituted gradually by zinc-oxide surge arresters, because it would be economically impracticable to replace them immediately. Therefore, the development of methodologies to evaluate their degradations condition is necessary, in order to avoid the failure of these equipments in site. Measurements of leakage current with third order harmonic analysis showed that important information regarding gapped silicon carbide surge arresters may be obtained, providing subsidies to elaborate a program of maintenance that prioritize the replacement of the most degraded ones.