Impact of a gate drive on performance of three-phase inverters based on 3.3 kV SiC MOSFETs

This paper discusses the impact of a new open-loop gate driver for a 3.3 kV/450 A SiC MOSFET module operating in a three-phase inverter. In general, this driver improves switching speed and reduces energy loss dissipated during the turn-on process. According to presented double-pulse test results switching times are shorter and turn-on energy is up to two times lower. Finally, a study on power losses in a 250 kVA three-phase inverter was carried out to show the impact of the new gate driver: an increase of the switching frequency by 50% is enabled with the proposed solution.