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NSF SBIR: SiC Based Power Converters for Hybrid Vehicles and Power Electronic Applications

Our goal is to develop CAD tools, design metrics, and technical know-how for next generation of super-efficient high-current high-voltage Silicon Carbide (SiC) based power converter devices, circuits and systems, targeted primarily towards commercial and military electric vehicles (EV), hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV) and fuel-cell vehicles (FCV).

SiC power devices will usher in a paradigm shift in power converter system design. Specific challenges to development and implementation of SiC based power converters, include lack of thorough understanding of the transport physics in this new material, unavailability of CAD tools for SiC device and circuit design, and lack of a comprehensive strategy for complete system integration of these devices. We propose to build a platform which includes detailed transport physics of SiC power devices, device design guidelines, mixed-mode and SPICE based CAD tools for SiC power converters, and system integration solutions for coupling the power electronics and cooling sub-systems. This platform will provide a very crucial and economically indispensable link between SiC power device manufacturers (CREE, Infineon, etc.) and commercial (GM, Ford, etc.) and military (General Dynamics, Raytheon, etc) EV, HEV and FCV manufacturers. In the automobile industry, where savings of a few cents per vehicle has an huge impact on profit, extensive use of CAD tools in design of new power electronics is an obvious necessity.

During Phase I of this project, we propose to develop CAD tools for SiC power DMOSFET and IGBT device design, mixed-mode and SPICE based CAD tools for power converter circuits, and use them to demonstrate the viability of SiC power converters by building a prototype power converter system using SiC power devices.

In this proposed program, we will extend our investigations by completing the following objectives:

    • Develop a comprehensive physics based CAD tool for ON state, OFF state and transient switching characterization and design optimization of 4H-SiC Power DMOSFETs and IGBTs
    • Engineer design of 4H-SiC power devices which conform to operating guidelines for voltage, current, leakage, switching losses, etc.
    • Develop mixed-mode CAD tool for 4H-SiC based DC-DC high voltage power converter design
    • Develop SPICE models for 4H-SiC power DMOSFETs and IGBTs
    • Demonstrate feasibility and advantages of 4H-SiC based power converter for HEV applications by developing and testing a prototype system

     

Text Box: An example of a DC-DC boost converter circuit with a 4H-SiC DMOSFET switch.  
An example of a DC-DC boost converter circuit with a 4H-SiC DMOSFET switch.

Text Box: (a)Drain-source and gate-source voltage during switching of a 4H-SiC DMOSFET circuit with an inductor and a load resistor. ON state drain-source voltage is very low indicating minimal power dissipation. OFF state voltage goes high due to a sudden rise in resistance of the DMOSFET during turn OFF, and then decays to a steady state level when DMOSFET current goes to zero. (b) 4H-SiC DMOSFET current, inductor current and load resistor current shown during switching of the simplified boost converter circuit. During the ON phase, the inductor current follows the drain current and rises approximately linear with time, thereby keeping a constant voltage across the inductor. In the OFF cycle, the inductor supplies current to the load resistor R  
(a) Drain-source and gate-source voltage during switching of a 4H-SiC DMOSFET circuit with an inductor and a load resistor. ON state drain-source voltage is very low indicating minimal power dissipation. OFF state voltage goes high due to a sudden rise in resistance of the DMOSFET during turn OFF, and then decays to a steady state level when DMOSFET current goes to zero. (b) 4H-SiC DMOSFET current, inductor current and load resistor current shown during switching of the simplified boost converter circuit. During the ON phase, the inductor current follows the drain current and rises approximately linear with time, thereby keeping a constant voltage across the inductor. In the OFF cycle, the inductor supplies current to the load resistor R.

Text Box: (a) Calculated and experimental I-V characteristics of a 4H-SiC lateral MOSFET used for parameter extraction and calibration of our mobility models. (b) Extracted acceptor-type interface trap density of states for the test 4H-SiC lateral MOSFET with the current-voltage curves shown in (a).  
(a) Calculated and experimental I-V characteristics of a 4H-SiC lateral MOSFET used for parameter extraction and calibration of our mobility models. (b) Extracted acceptor-type interface trap density of states for the test 4H-SiC lateral MOSFET with the current-voltage curves shown in (a).
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