Single chip enabled high frequency link based isolated bias supply for silicon carbide MOSFET six-pack power module gate drives

Regarded as one of the most successful wide bandgap (WBG) devices, Silicon Carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-transistors (MOSFETs) are being considered in an increasing number of power electronics applications. One of those applications is the hybrid and electric vehicle (HEV/EV) traction inverters where high-efficiency and high-power density is essential. From the system-level perspective, the gate driver circuit design for such device is challenging considering the device's fast switching speed and compact system structure. This paper presents a low profile (6 mm) isolated bias supply design using commercially available components for the SiC MOSFET modules targeting an HEV/EV traction inverter application. A single chip MAX 13256 (3 mm×3 mm) is adopted to form the high-frequency link for entire power module gate drive supply. Distributed transformer strategy is highlighted to provide multiple isolated output and compact structure with minimized parasitic capacitance between all the isolation barriers. The featured low profile optimization reduces the parasitic parameters that might deteriorate the system performance for the fast switching WBG devices. Moreover, the open-loop high-frequency link architecture allows easy configuration for customized output voltage level, polarity and higher reliability. A prototype gate driver has been built for 1.2 kV, 50 A SiC six-pack MOSFET power module, and experimental results are presented.