3.3 kV/1500A power modules for the world's first all-SiC traction inverter

We have successfully developed 4H-SiC devices including metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) and Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) with a rated voltage of 3.3 kV. The conduction loss of the SiC-MOSFET was reduced to as low as that of the Si-insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) by the n-type doping of the junction field-effect transistor region (JFET doping). The JFET doping technique is effective in reducing the temperature coefficient of resistance in the JFET region, leading to the decreased on-resistance of the SiC-MOSFET at high temperatures. These devices have been applied to 3.3 kV/1500A modules for the world's first all-SiC traction inverter. The switching loss of the new traction inverter system is approximately 55% less than that of a conventional inverter system incorporating Si modules. (C) 2015 The Japan Society of Applied Physics