Short Circuit Detection Methods for Silicon Carbide (SiC) Power Semiconductors

Inhalt:
The use of Silicon Carbide (SiC) power semiconductors presents an attractive solution for increasing the efficiency and the power density of power converters. However, the capability to withstand a short circuit represents a challenge, because of higher current density and smaller chip size compared to Si-based power semiconductors with similar rating. Therefore, the time to detect and interrupt a short circuit is shorter and requires a fast detection and switch off of a short circuit current. In this work, short circuits detection methods for SiC MOSFETs are compared and a desaturation detection is developed and validated experimentally on a specially built SiC MOSFET module.