Diode-Less SiC Power Module With Countermeasures Against Bipolar Degradation to Achieve Ultrahigh Power Density

• Published in: IEEE transactions on electron devices Vol. 67; no. 5; pp. 2035 - 2043
• Main Authors: Ishigaki, Takashi, Hayakawa, Seiichi, Murata, Tatsunori, Masuda, Toru, Oda, Tetsuo, Takayanagi, Yuji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01-05-2020; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Bipolar degradation; Degradation; Density measurement; diode-less (D-less); Field effect transistors; high power module; Inverters; Modules; MOSFETs; Multichip modules; power density; Power system measurements; Semiconductor devices; Silicon; Silicon carbide; silicon carbide (SiC); Temperature dependence; traction inverter
• ISSN: 0018-9383; 1557-9646
• DOI: 10.1109/TED.2020.2978218

A 3.3-kV diode-less (D-less) SiC power module adopting a "next high power density dual package" (named nHPD 2 ) was developed. Configuring the module with SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) only resulted in the ultrahigh power density. Its rated current of 800 A and power density of 37.7 kVA/cm 2 are the highest value achieved among high power modules so far. As a countermeasure against bipolar degradation related to the body diode in the MOSFET structure, a high-throughput screening process was utilized for the first time. To clarify the advantageous features of this module, its characteristics an in comparison with those of a full-SiC module and a conventional silicon module in the same nHPD 2 package. In addition, system-level impacts on actual traction inverter operations were simulated by using the evaluated characteristics. To accurately calculate the impacts, the temperature dependence of the SiC modules, which is a remarkable feature of high-voltage SiC devices, was taken into account. The superior performance of the developed D-less SiC power module, namely, low loss, low junction temperature, and high power density capability, was confirmed.