Reverse Recovery Behavior in SiC MOSFETs: Characterization and Modelling

Abstract:
The total switching energy losses of the recently released 2 kV SiC MOSFET portfolio are, in principle, almost independent of temperature. To achieve temperature-independent switching energy losses the gate driver circuit has to be properly designed. For this, the target should the shortest dead time possible. These requirements pose several challenges for circuit designers. To support circuit designers, a detailed experimental study will be presented highlighting the most relevant aspects for characterization and application. Though these results give circuit designers a certain understanding of the reverse recovery characteristics of SiC MOSFETs, the specific behavior is strongly influenced by the setup and cannot be predicted based on the base measurement results carried out on a different setup. Therefore, to help circuit designer consider a specific setup, a new behavioral model describing the reverse recovery behavior has been developed and is presented, for the first time, in this paper.