Development of secondary breakdown circuit for DV/DT analysis of SIC devices

Silicon carbide (4H-SiC) is a leading option for increasing the power density of pulsed power and power electronic systems 1, 2 . SiC devices used in high voltage switching applications experience high dV/dt due to fast switching transients. Under high dV/dt conditions the devices can exhibit spurious turn-ON. For SiC devices to achieve widespread acceptance the dV/dt limit must be established. To measure the dV/dt limit, a circuit comprised of four silicon avalanche BJTs operating in secondary breakdown was constructed. This circuit is capable of generating dV/dts well in excess of what SiC unipolar and bipolar devices might be exposed to in typical applications. Two SiC diodes in an “OR” configuration are used to perform a comprehensive dV/dt analysis as a function of dc bias. Using this experimental setup dV/dts up to 200 V/ns were applied to SiC MOSFETs, and the induced gate to source voltage was measured. Preliminary dV/dt results achieved with the secondary breakdown circuit are shown for a range of dc biases.