Date of Graduation

5-2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Electrical Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Juan Carlos Balda

Committee Member

Roy McCann

Second Committee Member

Yue Zhao

Third Committee Member

Simon Ang

Keywords

gate signal modeling, die-to-die interactions, miller clamp, parameter variance, parasitic inductance, power packaging, SiC power module

Abstract

The main objective of this effort is to determine points of weakness in the gate network of a high-performance SiC power module and to offer remedies to these issues to increase the overall performance, robustness, and reliability of the technology. In order to accomplish this goal, a highly accurate model of the gate network is developed through three methods of parameter extraction: calculation, simulation, and measurement. A SPICE model of the gate network is developed to analyze four electrical issues in a high-speed, SiC-based power module including the necessary internal gate resistance for damping under-voltage and over-voltage transients, the disparity in switching loss between paralleled devices due to propagation delay, a high-frequency oscillatory behavior on gate voltage due to die-to-die interactions, and current equalization in the kelvin-source signal path. In addition, the analysis of parameter variance between paralleled MOSFETs and the effects of mismatched threshold voltage and on-state resistance on switching loss and junction temperature are investigated. Finally, three Miller Clamp topologies are simulated and assessed for effectiveness culminating in a solution for parasitic turn-on in high dv/dt systems such as those utilizing high-performance SiC power modules.

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