Active Junction Temperature Control for SiC MOSFETs Based on a Resistor-Less Gate Driver

Junction temperature fluctuation is the main cause of failure of power devices including silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs, and active junction temperature control is an effective way to improve their reliability. Most existing methods of active junction temperature control rarely consider the system efficiency and the complexity of hardware implementation, which limits their applications. This article proposes an active junction temperature control method for SiC MOSFETs based on a resistor-less gate driver, which consists of two auxiliary MOSFETs with adjustable gate-source voltages. Hence, the switching loss of the SiC MOSFET can be continuously and accurately adjusted to mitigate the efficiency suffer with the junction temperature control. The power loss model of SiC MOSFETs with the proposed gate driver was established. The design principle of the junction temperature controller is introduced. The experimental results show that the junction temperature fluctuation is reduced by 24.1%, and that the lifetime of the SiC MOSFET is prolonged by 3.92 times via using the proposed junction temperature control method. The energy loss of the prototypical inverter is decreased by 4.15% over the whole testing period. The experiment was conducted with SiC MOSFETs, and the proposed method is also suitable for other Si-based semiconductor devices.

Automated summary

This article proposes an active junction temperature control method for SiC MOSFETs based on a resistor-less gate driver. The experimental results show that the proposed method can reduce junction temperature fluctuation, prolong the lifetime of SiC MOSFETs, and decrease energy loss.