A Medium Power SiC Module with Integrated Active Snubber for Lowest Switching Losses

Schlüter, Michael; Uhlemann, Andre; Pfost, Martin

doi:10.1109/apec39645.2020.9124178

Cited by 6 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…ref. [11], and allows a smaller capacitor compared to a DC‐snubber designed for a similar peak voltage.

t_3\le t&lt;t_4

:At the beginning of this period the turn‐off event is finished. As described above, the DC‐link current i link remains positive.…”

Section: Functional Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But buffering the voltage drop during turn‐on and excessive ringing can lead to even higher switching losses compared to a similar halfbridge, see refs. [11, 12] and Figure 1(d).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In ref. [11] it has been compared to a very similar halfbridge and a halfbridge with DC‐snubber also shown in Figure 1.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A comprehensive analytical description of the asymmetric active snubber

Schlüter

Pfost

2022

IET Power Electronics

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Power modules for several hundred amperes suffer from a high stray inductance compared to discrete setups at similar current density. The use of silicon carbide in such modules is beneficial but due to the high stray inductance, the switching speed must be reduced to keep the voltage overshoot below breakdown voltage. As a result, the semiconductor material cannot be fully utilised. To improve the utilisation in terms of power output, by strong over‐voltage reduction, reduced ringing, and highest switching speeds an asymmetric active snubber was introduced. This work targets an improved understanding of the active snubber by deriving analytical models to describe the behaviour during turn‐on and turn‐off and elaborate optimisation opportunities. The models are compared to measurements for validation and an improved loss estimation is derived as well as a prediction of the snubber voltage. Different modes of operation are investigated and compared to a similar DC‐snubber setup. Finally, the model is used to pre‐calculate the timing for optimal operation.

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“…ref. [11], and allows a smaller capacitor compared to a DC‐snubber designed for a similar peak voltage.

t_3\le t&lt;t_4

:At the beginning of this period the turn‐off event is finished. As described above, the DC‐link current i link remains positive.…”

Section: Functional Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But buffering the voltage drop during turn‐on and excessive ringing can lead to even higher switching losses compared to a similar halfbridge, see refs. [11, 12] and Figure 1(d).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A comprehensive analytical description of the asymmetric active snubber

Schlüter

Pfost

2022

IET Power Electronics

Self Cite

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“…FPGA‐controlled stage‐wise switched resistor 15 or multi‐voltage‐level 16 active gate drivers for SiC MOSFETs are investigated for their applications in multiple conditions. An active snubber is also a promising alternative 19 . However, its design principle depends on the operating conditions, thus limiting its flexibility.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An active snubber is also a promising alternative. 19 However, its design principle depends on the operating conditions, thus limiting its flexibility.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital active gate drive of SiC MOSFETs for controlling switching behavior—Preparation toward universal digitization of power switching

Takayama

Okuda

Hikihara

2021

Circuit Theory & Apps

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In this paper, a digital active gate driver for SiC power MOSFETs is proposed.High-frequency switching with SiC power MOSFETs can realize an integrated power circuit with higher power density. However, the large surge voltage and ringing caused by the fast switching will lose the reliability of the device and increase electromagnetic interference (EMI) problems. To achieve highfrequency switching without these drawbacks, an active gate driver based on the architecture of a digital-to-analog converter has been designed. The gatesource voltage waveform of the MOSFET is generated directly and flexibly by a multibit gate signal sequence, considering the device characteristics and a variety of circuit conditions. Effective gate signal sequences are investigated by focusing on the switching trajectory on the state space of the device, which is discretely controlled through successive transitions between operating points. Experimental and simulated results confirm that the proposed gate driver effectively suppresses and regulates the surge voltage and ringing during turn-off.

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A review of silicon carbide MOSFETs in electrified vehicles: Application, challenges, and future development

Shi

Ramones

Liu

et al. 2023

IET Power Electronics

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Compared with silicon‐based Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs), silicon carbide (SiC) Metal‐Oxide‐Semiconductor Field‐Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) are characterized by higher operating temperatures, switching speeds and switching frequencies, and are considered the next evolutionary step for future electric drives. The application of SiC MOSFETs in the field of electrified vehicles has brought many benefits, such as higher efficiency, higher power density, and simplified cooling system, and can be seen as an enabler for high‐power fast battery charging. This article reviews the benefits of SiC MOSFETs in different electrified vehicle (EV) application scenarios, including traction inverters, on‐board converters, and off‐board charging applications. However, replacing Si‐IGBTs with SiC MOSFETs introduces several new technical challenges, such as stronger electromagnetic interference (EMI), reliability issues, potential electric machine insulation failure due to high transient voltages, and cooling difficulties. Compared to mature silicon‐based semiconductor technologies, these challenges have so far hindered the widespread adoption of SiC MOSFETs in automotive applications. To fully exploit the advantages of SiC MOSFETs in automotive applications and enhance their reliability, this paper explores future technology developments in SiC MOSFET module packaging and driver design, as well as novel electric machine drive strategies with higher switching frequencies, and optimized high‐frequency machine design.

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A Medium Power SiC Module with Integrated Active Snubber for Lowest Switching Losses

Cited by 6 publications

References 5 publications

A comprehensive analytical description of the asymmetric active snubber

A comprehensive analytical description of the asymmetric active snubber

Digital active gate drive of SiC MOSFETs for controlling switching behavior—Preparation toward universal digitization of power switching

A review of silicon carbide MOSFETs in electrified vehicles: Application, challenges, and future development

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