Comparison of SiC and Si power semiconductor devices to be used in 2.5 kW DC/DC converter

With the fast development of silicon carbide (SiC) technology, SiC-based power semiconductor devices have started to complete Si components in transportation applications. In this paper, two dc/dc converters for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) application are designed and analyzed. The losses, efficiency, junction temperature, and the volume and weight of heat sinks of two converters are calculated for a Si and SiC solution for a 2.5 kW dc/dc converter. A performance comparison of the parameters mentioned above gives that SiC-based technology shows better performances than Si-based power semiconductor devices in the investigated dc/dc converter system. Finally, an economical evaluation shows that the SiC components can cost almost 2.5 times more in order to have the same total cost as for a Si solution for a 15 years operation.