The development of a high-voltage power device evaluation platform

This paper presents the development of a high voltage evaluation platform to investigate both the static and switching characteristics of silicon (Si) and silicon carbide (SiC) based high voltage (HV) power devices. The test methodologies, design, implementations, and safety guidelines for the HV device evaluation are elaborated. A 15 kV rated double pulse tester is built to study the dynamic behaviors of HV power devices. The gate drive circuit and main circuit are designed to achieve clean waveforms and safe operation. Meanwhile, a high voltage high frequency load inductor is designed with finite element analysis (FEA) tools, taking into consideration the non-uniform voltage distribution on the windings under sharp voltage impulse. Both the design details and test results are presented.