Wide Bandgap Semiconductors for LVDC Solid State Circuit Breaker applications

In the quest for energy-efficient Low Voltage Direct Current grids, this paper delves into the characteristics of wide bandgap semiconductors based on GaN and SiC materials. The characteristics are investigated from a solid state circuit breaker design point of view. Characteristics such as on-resistance, junction temperature, current interruption capability, voltage and current rating, switching speed and bidirectionality are discussed. While wide bandgap semiconductors offer great performance improvements across several categories, commercially available devices focus on power electronic applications which have different objectives and consequently are not optimized for protection applications.