Efficiency Investigation of Full-SiC versus Si-based Automotive Inverter Power Modules at Equal Commutation Speed

This paper investigates the mission profile efficiency performance of a full-SiC power module based on Infineon's Automotive CoolSiCTM MOSFET technology, suitable for traction inverter applications. This module is compared against a full-Silicon (Si) and a hybrid Silicon Carbide (SiC) module. The comparison is performed in identical state-of-the-art automotive power module package with 8 nH stray inductance (HybridPACK Drive). A commutation-speed based methodology is introduced to ensure that all devices are switching at the same speed for comparison. Static and dynamic characterisation of the three modules are performed, and these measurements are used to perform power loss calculations for different mission profiles and the full-SiC module was found to offer over 60% reduction in the total losses compared to the full-Si module.