Design and Experimental Validation of a Wire-Bond-Less 10-kV SiC MOSFET Power Module

Abstract

Wide-bandgap power devices with voltage ratings exceeding 10 kV have the potential to revolutionize medium-and high-voltage systems due to their high-speed switching and lower on-state losses. However, present power module packages are limiting the performance of these unique switches. The objective of this work is to push the boundaries of high-density, high-speed, 10 kV power module packaging. The proposed package addresses the well-known electromagnetic and thermal challenges, as well as the more recent and prominent electrostatic and electromagnetic interference issues associated with high-speed, 10 kV devices. The module achieves low and balanced parasitic inductances, resulting in a record switching speed of 250 V/ns with negligible ringing and voltage overshoot. An integrated screen reduces the commonmode current that is generated by these fast voltage transients by ten times. This screen connection simultaneously increases the partial discharge inception voltage by more than 50 %. A compact, medium-voltage termination and system interface design is also proposed in this work. With the integrated jet-impingement cooler, the power module prototype achieves a power density of 4 W/mm 3 . This paper presents the design, prototyping, and testing of this optimized package for 10 kV SiC MOSFETs.

Voltage Distribution in the Windings of Medium-Frequency Transformers Operated With Wide Bandgap Devices

“…The rise time t r,1 is comparable to the one reached in [71] and is also representative of electronic circuits implementing driver techniques that allow optimization of the switching speed [72], [73]. The rise times t r,2 and t r,3 are in the range normally reached by wideband gap devices [37], [38]. The frequency spectra of the reference waveforms normalized by the pulse amplitudev are shown in Fig.…”

“…These effects are normally neglected during the design of the insulation of an MFT operated with PWM voltage waveforms [39]- [41]. Nevertheless, the rise time of a PWM voltage generated by wide bandgap semiconductor devices can be even shorter than 1.2 µs [37], [38].…”

“…In contrast to LFTs, MFTs are permanently exposed to fast transients, both during normal operation, especially when they are operated with wide bandgap devices, and in case of a lightning strike. Furthermore, the rise time of a PWM voltage generated by wide bandgap semiconductor devices can be significantly faster than a lightning impulse, due to their superior switching characteristics compared to siliconbased devices [26], [37], [38]. These fast transients lead to a non-uniform voltage distribution along the windings caused by voltage propagation delays and/or the excitation of resonances between the distributed capacitances and inductances of the winding.…”

10-kV SiC MOSFET Power Module With Reduced Common-Mode Noise and Electric Field

“…With the housing and integrated cooler, the module dimensions are 70 mm × 80 mm × 25 mm. Details on the design and prototyping of this power module are reported in [47], [48], [49].…”

Parasitic Capacitance in Copper-Foiled Medium-Voltage Filter Inductors

“…Yet, the high dv/dt problem becomes more significant during the switching transitions of SiC MOSFETs [4]. Under the high dv/dt conditions, the parasitic capacitances of passive and active power components, such as the common-mode capacitance of gate drivers [5], [6], the ground capacitance of heatsink [7], the parasitic capacitance in power modules [8], [9], and the parasitic capacitance in transformers [10][11][12] and inductors [13][14][15], can bring large common-/differential-mode current into the converter circuit [13], causing electromagnetic interferences [4] and accelerating the aging of power components [16].…”