Title :
Active protections for normally-on SiC JFETs
Author :
Dubois, Fabien ; Risaletto, Damien ; Bergogne, Dominique ; Morel, Herve ; Buttay, Cyril ; Meuret, Regis
Author_Institution :
Hispano-Suiza-Safran Power Div., Safran Group, Moissy-Cramayel, France
fDate :
Aug. 30 2011-Sept. 1 2011
Abstract :
Normally-on Silicon Carbide (SiC) JFETs are powerful power switches that allow improvement of the efficiency and high temperature operation of Voltage Fed Inverter (VFI). Moreover, the need for heavy and costly cooling system can be radically decreased due to the high thermal conductivity that exhibits the SiC material compared to Si counterpart. However some safety considerations have to be taken against short-circuit and voltage breakdown. In this paper, it is proposed an overview of the failure mechanisms of the SiC JFET. Fast and reliable solutions to protect SiC JFETs are also presented. Experimental validation of such protections and investigation of gate destruction mode are proposed.
Keywords :
invertors; junction gate field effect transistors; reliability; silicon compounds; thermal conductivity; wide band gap semiconductors; SiC; active protections; failure mechanisms; gate destruction mode; normally-on SiC JFET; power switches; reliable solutions; silicon carbide; thermal conductivity; voltage fed inverter; JFETs; Junctions; Logic gates; MOSFET circuits; Noise; Silicon; Silicon carbide; Aerospace; JFET; Normally-On; Protection Device; Safety; SiC;
Conference_Titel :
Power Electronics and Applications (EPE 2011), Proceedings of the 2011-14th European Conference on
Conference_Location :
Birmingham
Print_ISBN :
978-1-61284-167-0
Electronic_ISBN :
978-90-75815-15-3
