An Integrated Gate Driver Solution for Silicon Carbide Semiconductor Applications

A gate driver solution for Silicon Carbide (SiC) semiconductors based on SIC1182K gate driver IC, a new member of SCALE-iDriverTM family by Power Integrations, is presented in this paper. Due to Advanced Active Clamping and Short-Circuit Detection that are achieved using only one input pin, the proposed SIC1182K solution not only allows full SiC power modules to be safely turned off without experiencing excessive Drain-Source voltages but, also ensures that the semiconductor can be turned off in case of a short-circuit event within the typical shortcircuit time. A application circuit of SIC1182K is presented and has been verified based on two full SiC power modules from different manufactures.