Comparative analysis of false turn-ON in silicon bipolar and SiC unipolar power devices

The temperature and dV/dt dependence of false turn-ON has been analyzed for Silicon Carbide (SiC) Unipolar and Silicon Bipolar transistors, with switching rates varied by the gate resistances while temperature is varied by a hot plate connected to power modules. Self-heating is also investigated by measuring the temperature rise of the modules at high switching frequencies (8 kHz). This has resulted in continuous false turn-on occurrence in the device which has increased the device junction temperature significantly due to the repetitive shoot-through energy. Temperature rises of up to 150°C within just a few minutes have been observed as a result of repetitive shoot-through currents at high frequencies. To understand the impact of different mitigation techniques, the temperature rise is also observed after applying the corrections. It is seen that using the correction methods in the devices reduces the temperature rise significantly and therefore is vital for the applications of both Silicon and SiC devices.