Silicon carbide against silicon: a comparison in terms of physical properties, technology and electrical performance of power devices
18
Citation
6
Reference
10
Related Paper
Citation Trend
Abstract:
The aim of the present paper is to give the state of the an of the silicon carbide technology by « photographing » it beside the unique technology used for power electronics that is the silicon one.The theoretical superiority of SiC physical properties on those of Si, together with the important technological advancements realized during the last decade, are the main reasons of the interestgiven to SiC nowadays.Conceming electrical performance, the voltage and power handling capabilities do not reach today the high expected values, and remain lower than those provided by Si.On the other hand, SiC components confirm the aptitude of this material for high temperature and high frequency applications.Keywords:
Power Electronics
High Voltage
Cite
Citations (1)
AbstractSEQUEL (a Solver of circuit EQuations with User-defined ELements) is a public-domain simulation package that has been used for a variety of applications. A graphics interface has recently been added to SEQUEL, in order to make it more user-friendly and better suitable for teaching purposes. The package can be downloaded freely. In this paper, some of the features of SEQUEL are described, along with examples.
Power Electronics
Public domain
Cite
Citations (2)
The importance of power electronics innovation in the future human society and related technology roadmap is presented. Based on the roadmap, recent progress in widegap semiconductor power electronics is reviewed, especially focused on Silicon Carbide (SiC) technology [1-3].
Power Electronics
Technology roadmap
Power module
Cite
Citations (6)
Power Electronics
Course (navigation)
Cite
Citations (0)
Power devices based on Silicon Carbide (SiC) have better performances than its silicon counter-parts on the switch level. This paper describes the current state of the art of SiC devices briefly. Then the applications of SiC devices in several typical applications are given. And the hinder to the broader implementation of SiC devices are discussed. Finally, the perspective of SiC power devices is given.
Power Electronics
Power module
Wide-bandgap semiconductor
Cite
Citations (18)
An inverter could be built by using silcon carbide power switches only. This can be done by using SiC JFETs which can conduct current in both directions. An interesting question is how an inverter using SiC JFETs with a body diode compares with an inverter using SiC JFETs without body diodes. This will be discussed in this paper. I. I NTRODUCTION Silicon carbide has been pointed out for long as the material that will replace silicon as the dominating semiconductor mate- rial for switching power applications (4). The reason for th is is that the drift resistance in SiC power devices can theoretic ally be up to 700 times lower than in silicon power devices of equal area while the drift region can sustain the same blocking voltage (6). Additionally, silicon carbide can withstand higher te mpera- tures than silicon. In inverters today the IGBT is the normally used component. Since an IGBT cannot conduct current in the reverse direction, an anti-parallell power diode is needed. However, a SiC JFET can conduct current in both forward and reverse direction elim- inating the need for a power diode as first suggested in (1).
JFET
Insulated-gate bipolar transistor
Commutation
Flyback diode
PIN diode
Wide-bandgap semiconductor
Cite
Citations (7)
Characteristics and Applications of Silicon Carbide Power Devices in Power Electronics Silicon carbide materials, with its high mechanical strength, high thermal conductivity, ability to operate at high temperatures, and extreme chemical inertness to most of the electrolytes, are very attractive for high-power applications. In this paper, properties, advantages, and limitations of SiC and conventional Si materials are compared. Various applications, where SiC power devices are attractive, are discussed.
Power Electronics
Power module
Cite
Citations (24)
Power Electronics
Cite
Citations (0)
A relationship between the basic properties of semiconductor materials and the performance of unipolar power devices was first published in 1982 [1]. This theory produced the Baliga's Figure-of-Merit (BFOM) which allows determination of which semiconductors can be used to reduce the specific on-resistance in power devices. Accurate measurements of the impact ionization coefficients for SiC [2] determined a BFOM to more than 1000 for 4H-SiC. This encouraged the development of practical SiC devices during the 1990s culminating in the announcement of commercial devices by 2003. Today, high voltage JBS rectifiers and power MOSFETs have become commercially available from multiple sources. This paper reviews the history of development of SiC power devices, their potential applications, and the social impact.
Wide-bandgap semiconductor
Power MOSFET
Figure of Merit
High Voltage
Cite
Citations (18)
Silicon carbide (SiC) JFETs are attractive devices, but they might suffer from thermal instability. An analysis shows that two mechanisms could lead to their failure: the loss of gate control, which can easily be avoided, and a thermal runaway caused by the conduction losses. Destructive experimental tests performed on a dedicated system show that the latter mechanism is more severe than initially expected. A low thermal resistance and gate driver equipped with protections systems are thus required to ensure safe operation of the SiC JFETs.
Thermal Runaway
Wide-bandgap semiconductor
JFET
Failure mechanism
Cite
Citations (13)