Efficiency Improvement of PV-Inverters with SiC-DMOSFETs

Abstract

The new MOSFET-generation with SiC-materials seems well suited for power electronic converters up to 1200 V operating-voltage, and particularly for grid-feeding PhotoVoltaic-inverters, which transfer the DC power of the solar panel to the AC grid. Their high switching speed and low on-resistance RDS(on) allow the use of higher switching frequencies, which could mainly reduce the costs and weight of the converters. This paper shows a comparison between IGBT and SiC DMOSFET devices and first measurements of some 1200 V / 10 A SiC-DMOSFET samples made by CREE®.

Construction and characterization of spherical Si solar cells combined with SiC electric power inverter

“…In addition, the SiC device has higher efficiencies for high power switching devices, which can operate at higher temperatures of ~600 °C without much change in their electrical properties compared with the Si devices (~200 °C). The SiC devices are one of the leading candidates of next generation power devices [5][6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

“…The SiC-FET devices were introduced in the direct current-alternating current (DC-AC) converter, which was connected with the solar panels. Both spherical Si solar cells and flat panel Si cells were used as the power sources, and the spherical Si panels are lighter and more flexible compared with the ordinary flat Si solar panels [5]. Conversion efficiencies and device losses were analyzed and discussed.…”

“…Higher electrical breakdown voltage, lower 'on'-resistance (R on ), and higher thermal conductivity provide small size, improved efficiency of components for high power switching and less heating, respectively. Therefore, the SiC devices have smaller size and lighter weight [1][2][3][4], as shown in Figure 1. In addition, the SiC device has higher efficiencies for high power switching devices, which can operate at higher temperatures of ~600 °C without much change in their electrical properties compared with the Si devices (~200 °C).…”

Comparison between SiC- and Si-Based Inverters for Photovoltaic Power Generation Systems

“…The improvement in system performance that can be achieved by an improvement in device performance is an important consideration for such devices. Considerable research has focused on developing power converters using SiC devices in an attempt to answer this question [4]- [11]. A comparative study for Si-and SiCbased power converters was also reported in [12] [13].…”

Construction and evaluation of photovoltaic power generation and power storage system using SiC field-effect transistor inverter

“…The higher electrical breakdown voltage, lower 'on'-resistance (Ron) and higher thermal conductivity provide small size, improved efficiency of components for high power switching and less heating, respectively. Therefore, the SiC and GaN devices have smaller size and weight [1][2][3][4][5], compared with the ordinary Si devices. In addition, the SiC device has higher efficiencies for high power switching devices with high frequencies.…”