Comparing the State-of-the-Art SiC MOSFETs: Test results reveal characteristics of four major manufacturers? 900-V and 1.2-kV SiC devices

For decades, silicon (Si)-based semiconductors were the solution for power electronics applications due to their mature technology and low manufacturing costs. However, such semiconductors seem to be approaching their limits of operation in terms of blocking voltage, working temperature, and switching speed [1]. The voltage rating of commercial Si insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) is limited to 6.5 kV, and at higher voltages, the maximum switching frequency featured by these semiconductors is no more than several hundred hertz. The development of optimal switching schemes, such as selective harmonics elimination and selective harmonics mitigation, was mainly due to the limitation in switching performance of Si-based semiconductors for high-power converters [2], [3]. Moreover, no Si-based semiconductor is reported to be capable of operating beyond 200?C [1].