Online Junction Temperature Estimation Method for SiC Modules With Built-in NTC Sensor

Abstract

Silicon carbide (SiC) devices characterized by high efficiency, high power density and wide bandgap, have great potential in many advanced applications, such as electric automotive, aviation and military. Thermal management, condition monitoring and life estimation of SiC modules are essential to achieve high reliability. These control techniques require realtime monitoring or estimation of the module's junction temperature. This paper proposed a thermal model based on an integrated negative thermal coefficient (NTC) thermistor in SiC modules. The Finite Element Methods simulation results showed that the parameters of the thermal model are invariant under different heat dissipation conditions and ambient temperatures. The combination of the proposed thermal model with the reading of NTC sensor realized the online estimation of the junction temperature. The accuracy of the thermal model and the independence of thermal impedance were verified by simulation and experimental results.

Accurate ON-State Resistance Extraction for Online Condition Monitoring of Semiconductor Devices Under Noisy Conditions

“…That is, there is no actual switching present in the verification hardware, and the procedure is similar to how offline measurement systems operate. A similar argument can be made for [25], and [26].…”

Active Power Cycling Test Bench for SiC Power MOSFETs—Principles, Design, and Implementation

“…The main drawback of the model-based junction temperature estimation method is the relationship between thermal model parameters, environmental conditions and the placement of the reference temperature sensor [47]. One possibility to overcome this flaw and increase T J estimation accuracy is measurement and identification of Z T H J−C parameters (e.g.…”

Two Decades of Condition Monitoring Methods for Power Devices

“…TTCs can be suitable for on-line temperature measurements. Various types of TTCs have been realized, such as integrated diodes and resistance temperature detectors (RTDs) [67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75]. As the forward voltage of the diodes strongly depends on the temperature variation, the measure of the voltage drop can be used for temperature estimation.…”

“…The widespread nature of SiC power modules in different power electronics applications has also driven forward the research of innovative control techniques that require real-time monitoring or estimation of the module's JT. From this perspective, several works [72][73][74][75] have been focused on the development of electrical models of the devices in which several NTC thermistors have been integrated on the die surface. The measurement of the temperature variation enables the estimation of aging of a device and, consequentially, the device model can be continuously updated.…”