High‐frequency resonant operation of an integrated medium‐voltage SiC MOSFET power module

Abstract

Industrial processes which use induction and dielectric heating are still relying on resonant converters based on vacuum tubes. New emerging medium-voltage silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor power devices have a potential to replace vacuum tubes and allow for more efficient and compact converters in the high-frequency range. High-voltage packages have been proposed in the literature that are suitable for the 10 kV SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETS), and its fast voltage switching capabilities in hard-switched applications have been demonstrated. However, no packaging is presented which allows the high-frequency operation of a 10 kV SiC MOSFET die. This study proposes the design of a power module for MHz resonant operation of a 10 kV SiC MOSFET. At high switching frequencies, the gate losses become substantial, thus the gate driver is included inside the power module package to ensure a low inductive and high thermally conductive design as seen from the gate driver. The inductance of the proposed power module layout structure is evaluated using ANSYS Q3D Extractor. The thermal performance of the integrated gate-driver circuitry is experimentally verified. Finally, the resonant operation of a medium-voltage SiC MOSFET power module is demonstrated experimentally at 1 MHz.

Review on Driving Circuits for Wide-Bandgap Semiconductor Switching Devices for Mid- to High-Power Applications

“…Some examples of modular SiC MOSFET power stages can be found in [ 79 , 80 , 81 ]. Jørgensen et al [ 79 ] proposed a 10 kV single-switch module adopting −5~20 V hard-switched Littlefuse IXRFD630, Kelvin connection, no external gate resistance for the fastest switching speed possible, and low inductance design for better heat dissipation. In [ 80 ], a 1200 V/120 A HB module was designed based on a direct bonding copper-stacked hybrid packaging structure for minimized thermal resistance and commutation power loop inductance.…”

“…Next, the conventional and emerging applications of active gate drive were also reviewed, including EMI noise mitigation, dead-time adaption, motor drive, reliability enhancement of SiC MOSFET, and parallel SiC MOSFET connection. Some examples of modular SiC MOSFET power stages can be found in [79][80][81]. Jørgensen et al [79] proposed a 10 kV single-switch module adopting −5~20 V hard-switched Littlefuse IXRFD630, Kelvin connection, no external gate resistance for the fastest switching speed possible, and low inductance design for better heat dissipation.…”

Development of a current source resonant inverter for high current MHz induction heating

“…While the presented gate driver integration is key for the handling of gate driver losses and inductance, the integration also implies some inherent capacitive coupling between the driver input and the high voltage copper planes [33]. The IXRFD630 supports an input voltage range from −5 V to V, so to avoid accidental false triggering of a turn‐off signal, the high input signal to the driver is driven to 10 V through a 50 resistor, significantly increasing the voltage margin to the input threshold of around 3 V.…”

A digital‐controlled gate charge detection circuit for short‐circuit protection and condition monitoring of SiC MOSFET

“…As an emerging device, the silicon carbide (SiC) metal‐oxide‐semiconductor field‐effect transistor (MOSFET) is regarded as the next‐generation power transistor for the high‐density power converter due to the high breakdown voltage, low on‐resistance, high switching frequency and low parasitic parameters [2–4]. However, it still has some physical shortcomings like the relatively poor SiC/SiO$$_2$$ interface.…”