A Unified View of GaN, SiC, Silicon FETs & IGBTs and their Price Performance Analysis

Abstract:
We present a unified view of GaN, SiC, Silicon FETs and IGBTs available in the market from key manufacturers. In this view, we show power devices in a VCE(ON) / VDS(ON) vs. VCE / VDS chart. We then model the power loss of each of these devices when used in a 3 KW DC-DC power converter application operating at 400 V , 15 A at 0.5 duty cycle from low to high switching frequencies. We report how the population of each type of power device behaves under different operating conditions and compare their power loss performance with respect to their price. This work will provide key insights to hardware engineers on which material and devices to consider for their application.