Switching performance comparison of 1200 V and 1700 V SiC optimized half bridge power modules with SiC antiparallel schottky diodes versus MOSFET intrinsic body diodes

This paper presents a comparison of the inductive switching losses between a 1200 V SiC MOSFET half bridge power module with anti-parallel SiC Schottky barrier diodes (SBD) versus the same power module package utilizing only the intrinsic body diode of the SiC MOSFETs. Also presented is a comparison of the same power module utilizing 1700 V devices where the same SBD vs body diode comparisons are made. SBDs can significantly reduce switching losses by reducing the reverse recovery losses experienced during hard-switching events. However, the inclusion of SBDs reduces the chip area available in the module for MOSFETs - thus limiting the current capability of the end product and increasing the cost per amp. This paper investigates the tradeoff between using both SiC MOSFETs and SBDs versus using only SiC MOSFETs in a high performance SiC power module for 1200 V and 1700 V devices. Understanding the switching performance of each configuration will enable custom power module solutions to be optimized for maximize performance for the desired application.