Performance Analysis of a PEBB Demonstrator with High Power 3.3 kV CoolSiC(TM) in XHP(TM)2 for Modern Railway Traction Systems

Abstract:
Wide bandgap devices such as silicon carbide (SiC) are gaining increased popularity in industrial applications. For railway traction systems, the first use cases are found in the DC/DC converter of newly introduced hybrid-traction trains. Benefits for other parts of the railway traction system has been in discussion for years, but there, conventional silicon (Si) IGBT technologies are still state-of-the-art. This paper describes the work done on a liquid-cooled power electronic building block (PEBB) demonstrator utilizing Infineon’s novel XHP(TM)2 3.3 kV CoolSiCTM MOSFET module and evaluates its performance in typical use cases of a railway traction system.