Gate Driving Circuit Design and Gate Driver Power Supply Structure for SiC MOSFETs

This paper presents an in-depth study of driving circuit design and driver IC selection for SiC MOSFETs. Selections of positive and negative driving voltage is discussed based on the device design details and device datasheet parameters. Driver IC current rating and the driving capability is evaluated considering both switching loss and driver IC temperature rise. Short circuit protection performance is also evaluated in detail considering the faster switching speed and shorter withstand time of SiC MOSFETs. Experimental testing results are presented to compare the performance of different off-the-shelf driver ICs on a gate driver evaluation platform. Finally, the power supply structure for negative driving voltage is discussed in detail. A low cost and simple negative driving voltage implementation circuit is proposed that features single power supply and low power rating linear regulator or a Zenner diode for easy implementation and possibility to be integrated in an integrated circuit design.