A Novel Predictive Dead Time Control Method for High-Voltage Applications with SiC/GaN Devices

Abstract:
This paper presents a novel closed-loop control scheme for optimizing dead time in power converters using SiC MOSFETs or GaN devices. Achieving optimal dead time across varying operating conditions is challenging. Current state-of-art solutions often require costly high-voltage (HV) components, complicating the system. The proposed method adjusts dead time based on common source inductance voltage (VLs ) and gate-source voltage (Vgs). Experimental results achieve dead times below 100 ns and demonstrate an 8.7% relative loss savings using the proposed method compared with a fixed 1 mus dead time in a 48V-12V synchronous converter at 10 kHz with 1 Ω resistor load.