Estimation of Switching Transients and Power Losses of SiC-based Power MOSFET Inverter Using Electromagnetic-circuit Co-simulation during Six-step Commutation

This study conducts power loss estimation of a silicon carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) inverter in 1200V 200A power module during space-vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) load operation using a fully integrated electromagnetic (EM)-circuit simulation. The focus of this study is placed on the switching transients of the SiC power MOSFET devices and the power losses of the SiC MOSFET inverter, including switching, conduction, diode, and reverse recovery losses. In addition, the effect of the parasitic inductances and capacitances of the SiC inverter on the switching transients and power losses are taken into account, and the values of which are calculated through Q3D Extractor under a working frequency of 1 MHz. The simulated parasitic inductances and switching waveforms are verified by the DPT experiment according to the IEC criterion. Moreover, an integrated circuit model of the SiC inverter is built to perform SVPWM switching at 400V drain bias and 30A load current, where the switching frequency and duty cycle are 15 kHz and 66%, respectively. Finally, the switching frequency effect on the power losses of the SiC inverter during load cycles is examined through parametric analysis.