Silicon carbide (SiC) power devices have been investigated extensively in the past two decades, and there are many devices commercially available now. Owing to the intrinsic material advantages of SiC over silicon (Si), SiC power devices can operate at higher voltage, higher switching frequency, and higher temperature. This paper reviews the technology progress of SiC power devices and their emerging applications. The design challenges and future trends are summarized at the end of the paper.

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/ielaam/41/8031005/7815312-aam.pdf

Review of Silicon Carbide Power Devices and Their Applications

Although conventional electromechanical circuit breakers have a proven record as effective and reliable devices for circuit protection, emerging power distribution technologies and architectures, such as dc microgrids, require improved interruption performance characteristics (eg, faster switching speed) The need for faster switching operation, in combination with the latest developments of advanced power semiconductor technologies, has spurred an increase in the research and development in the area of solid-state circuit breakers This article provides a comprehensive review of various solid-state circuit breaker technologies that have been reported in the literature during recent years First, we categorize solid-state circuit breakers based on key features and subsystems, including power semiconductor devices, main circuit topologies, voltage clamping methods, gate drivers, fault detection methods, and commutation methods for power semiconductor devices Second, we discuss the various challenges associated with the design of solid-state circuit breakers from the perspective of generic applications and provide a comparison of several solid-state breaker technologies based on key metrics Finally, we provide a useful framework and point of reference for future development of solid-state circuit breakers for many emerging power distribution applications

A Review of Solid-State Circuit Breakers

In this paper, benchmark of Si IGBT, SiC MOSFET, and Gallium nitride (GaN) HEMT power switches at 600-V class is conducted in single-phase T-type inverter. Gate driver requirements, switching performance, inverter efficiency performance, heat sink volume, output filter volume, and dead-time effect for each technology is evaluated. Gate driver study shows that GaN has the lowest gate driver losses above 100 kHz and below 100 kHz, SiC has lowest gate losses. GaN has the best switching performance among three technologies that allows high efficiency at high-frequency applications. GaN-based inverter operated at 160-kHz switching frequency with 97.3% efficiency at 2.5-kW output power. Performance of three device technologies at different temperature, switching frequency, and load conditions shows that heat sink volume of the converter can be reduced by 2.5 times by switching from Si to GaN solution at 60  $^{\circ }$ C case temperature, and for SiC and GaN, heat sink volume can be reduced by 2.36 and 4.92 times, respectively, by increasing heat sink temperature to 100  $^{\circ }$ C. Output filter volume can be reduced by 43% with 24, 26, and 61 W increase in device power loss for GaN-, SiC-, and Si-based converters, respectively. WBG devices allow reduction of harmonic distortion at output current from 3.5% to 1.5% at 100 kHz.

/pdf/single-phase-t-type-inverter-performance-benchmark-using-si-1vnp8vzn39.pdf

Single-Phase T-Type Inverter Performance Benchmark Using Si IGBTs, SiC MOSFETs, and GaN HEMTs

Two of the main challenges for electric vehicle (EV) adoption include limited range and long recharge times. Ultrafast charging can help to mitigate both these concerns. However, for typical 400-V battery EVs (BEVs), the charging rate is limited by the practical cable size required to carry the charging current. To reach ultrahigh charge rates of 350 or 400 kW, 800-V BEVs are a promising alternative. However, the design of an 800-V EV requires careful new considerations for all electrical systems. This article reviews the current state of 800-V vehicle powertrain electrical design and performs an analysis of benefits, challenges, and future trends regarding multiple vehicle powertrain components. Specifically, detailed benefits and challenges related to the battery, propulsion motor, inverter, auxiliary power unit, and on- and off-board chargers are discussed.

800-V Electric Vehicle Powertrains: Review and Analysis of Benefits, Challenges, and Future Trends

Modern Power Devices

A parallel arrangement of a silicon (Si) IGBT and a silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET is experimentally demonstrated. The concept referred to as the cross-switch (XS) hybrid aims to reach optimum power device performance by providing low static and dynamic losses while improving the overall electrical and thermal properties due to the combination of both the bipolar Si IGBT and unipolar SiC MOSFET characteristics. For the purpose of demonstrating the XS hybrid, the parallel configuration is implemented experimentally in a single package for devices rated at 1200 V. Test results are obtained to validate this approach with respect to the static and dynamic performance when compared to a full Si IGBT and a full SiC MOSFET reference devices having the same power ratings as for the XS hybrid samples.

Characterization of a Silicon IGBT and Silicon Carbide MOSFET Cross-Switch Hybrid

In this paper, we present the development of an air-cooled 1MW bi-directional DC Solid State Circuit Breaker (SSCB) based on recently developed 91mm, 25kV Reverse Blocking-IGCT (RB-IGCT) The power electronic switch (RB-IGCT) has been designed and optimized to have very low conduction losses, less than 1kW at 1kA (on-state voltage drop 65kA at 16kV, 400K) which are the most important concerns of semiconductor based circuit breaker We also present the simulation and experimental results at the system level ie analyzed the influence of the Surge Arrester (SA) on the over-voltage transients during current interruption We also analyzed the thermal management for the newly developed SSCB using ANSYS Icepak and validated experimentally

1MW bi-directional DC solid state circuit breaker based on air cooled reverse blocking-IGCT

In this paper, we review the progress made recently for further developing the Integrated Gate Commutated Thyristor (IGCT) device concept for high power electronics applications. A wide range of newly introduced IGCT technologies are discussed and recent prototype experimental results as well as novel structures and future trends of the IGCT technology are presented. This will provide system designers with a comprehensive overview of the potentials possible with this device concept.

/pdf/recent-advancements-in-igct-technologies-for-high-power-2nbuk3m9yb.pdf

Recent advancements in IGCT technologies for high power electronics applications

The cross hybrid (XS) concept has been demonstrated experimentally with 3.3-kV Si Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBTs) and SiC MOSFETs in parallel, and used to calibrate 2D Technology Computer Aided Design simulations. The XS hybrid offers lower switching losses compared with full Si IGBTs and reduced oscillations compared with full SiC MOSFETs. The current sharing mechanism between the IGBT and the MOSFET in the XS hybrid has been elucidated, showing that under typical switching conditions, the IGBT dissipate 98% of the XS hybrid turn-OFF losses compared with the SiC MOSFET. Since the current density of the IGBT in the XS hybrid is twice of that of the full IGBT solution, it exhibits higher dynamic avalanche. These features results in stress at device and package level, thereby compromising robustness and reliability. In order to overcome such issues, we show that increasing the turn-OFF gate resistance improves current sharing in the XS hybrid by delaying the turn-OFF of the MOSFET, and thereby suppressing dynamic avalanche in the IGBT.

Current Sharing Behavior in Si IGBT and SiC MOSFET Cross-Switch Hybrid

This study presents the simulation and experimental results of the newly developed 2.5 kV reverse blocking-integrated gate commutated thyristor (RB-IGCT) which has been designed and optimised to have very low conduction losses and high turn-off current capability for DC solid state circuit breaker (SSCB) applications. The device has been optimised through anode engineering, thickness and resistivity to achieve the required blocking capability of 2.5 kV and to have very low conduction losses below 1 kW at 1 kA, that is, the on-state voltage drop is as low as 0.9 V at 1 kA. This study also presents the simulation and experimental results at the system level including the influence of the surge arrester (SA) which is connected in parallel to the RB-IGCT to clamp the overvoltage and to absorb the energy stored in the system inductance at the current interruption. The influence of different voltage rating SAs and parallel combination of SAs on the switching behaviour of the RB-IGCT has been investigated. A bi-directional SSCB for 1 MW application based on 2.5 kV RB-IGCT has been built successfully. The device simulations show that the results are in good agreement with the measurement results both at the device and system levels.

https://ietresearch.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1049/iet-pel.2015.0028

Umamaheswara Vemulapati

Papers

Characterization of a Silicon IGBT and Silicon Carbide MOSFET Cross-Switch Hybrid

1MW bi-directional DC solid state circuit breaker based on air cooled reverse blocking-IGCT

Recent advancements in IGCT technologies for high power electronics applications

Current Sharing Behavior in Si IGBT and SiC MOSFET Cross-Switch Hybrid

Reverse blocking IGCT optimised for 1 kV DC bi-directional solid state circuit breaker