The Performance of a GaN eMode HEMT in Surge Current Scenarios such as the Active Short Circuit

Abstract:
In addition to normal operation, the inverter of an electric vehicle (EV) has to provide certain fault operations. One of these is active short circuit (ASC). This paper presents surge current measurements. The defect is initiated by current saturation. To prevent saturation of the eMode GaN during ASC and thus a defect, a safe operating area (SOA) is specified. Therefore, a simple loss model and a saturation voltage are defined. Finally, the derating of a virtual module is presented for two representative machines. The derating is up to about 65.4 %.