Short Circuit Detection Methods for Silicon Carbide (SiC) Power Semiconductors

The use of Silicon Carbide (SiC) power semiconductors presents an attractive solution for increasing the efficiency and the power density of power converters. However, the capability to withstand a short circuit represents a challenge, because of higher current density and smaller chip size compared to Si-based power semiconductors with similar rating. Therefore, the time to detect and interrupt a short circuit is shorter and requires a fast detection and switch off of a short circuit current. In this work, short circuits detection methods for SiC MOSFETs are compared and a desaturation detection is developed and validated experimentally on a specially built SiC MOSFET module.