A cost-efficient Current-Source Gate Driver for SiC MOSFET Module and its Comparison with Voltage-Source Gate Driver

Abstract

A current-source gate driver (CSG) is considered as a candidate to improve the switching performance of Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFET compared with a SiC MOSFET powered by a voltage-source gate driver (VSG). Various CSG circuits have been proposed to promote the switching transients by generating a constant gate current. However, those circuits are normally designed with complicated structures and high costs due to extra components and control signals. This paper proposes a cost-efficient approach to adjust the gate current of the conventional VSG which can improve its dynamic performance of the devices. Following the comparison analysis of CSG and VSG, a simple-structure circuit is introduced to replace the gate resistor in the conventional VSG. This circuit transforms that the gate current shows constant levels during the switching transients, which exhibits current-source characteristics. Simulation and experimental studies have been undertaken to verify the effectiveness of the proposed circuit. The results show that the turn-on switching time and oscillation can be reduced using the proposed circuit compared with the conventional VSG and the proposed circuit is less hardware intensive compared to other CSGs.

Phenomenon of Short-Time Threshold Voltage Shift and Its Application in Junction Temperature Estimation

“…13 presents the influence of the temperature on the electrical field in the gate oxide. In the condition of higher temperature, the electrons required for the inversion layer are less than at lower temperature [11]- [15]. The decrease of the charges in the inversion layer reduces the electrical field.…”