Issues relating to the design of accumulation-mode SiC power MOSFET's which utilize a lateral accumulation channel for MOS gate control and a vertical drift region to support large blocking voltage are investigated using MEDICI device simulation. An optimized device design is expected to have an R-ON = 0.04 ohm-cm(2) with a breakdown voltage of 700 V for a drift layer doping of 2 x 10(16) cm(-3). A buried guard ring, edge termination is necessary to achieve the desired high breakdown voltage.