Online Junction Temperature Estimation of SiC Power MOSFETs Through On-State Voltage Mapping

This paper deals with real-time estimation of the junction temperature of SiC power mosfets. The junction temperature of a device with four-switch module is estimated in real-time by measuring its current and on-state voltage V
_ON
at each switching period and entering the temperature in the lookup table of the device. The temperature model is preliminarily obtained in a dedicated commissioning session, where V
_ON
is measured at different temperature and current conditions. The results show the feasibility of online temperature monitoring and even the active limitation of the junction temperature of the tested SiC power mosfet modules accurately and with an instantaneous dynamic response. Different modules with die from different manufacturers were tested in an H-bridge demonstrator power converter, emulating the operating conditions of real converters such as voltage source dc/ac or dc/dc conversion structures. The commissioning procedure is meant to be performed directly on the final application for each converter. The measurements obtained using the proposed temperature estimation technique are validated using a thermal camera and compared to the direct measurement of the die temperature with a thermistor, showing high accuracy and high feasibility.