Robustness in short-circuit Mode of SiC MOSFETs

Abstract:
This paper presents experimental robustness tests of Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFETs submitted to short-circuit operations. MOSFETs manufactured from different manufacturers have been tested and show different failure modes. A gate leakage current is detected before failure but is not necessarily responsible for the failure. For some tested devices, the failure appears in an open state mode after physical short-circuit between gate and source. The main failure mode is nevertheless a physical short-circuit between drain and source. However, the various tests show, despite the gate leakage current, excellent robustness of the various tested SiC MOSFETs under short-circuit.