Date of Graduation

8-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Electrical Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Chen, Zhong

Committee Member

McCann, Roy A.

Second Committee Member

Ware, Morgan E.

Keywords

Integrated gate driver; Integrated power module; Optocoupler integration; SiC power module

Abstract

The growing demand for electrical energy in today’s industrialized economy has driven the need for innovative approaches to meet diverse application requirements. Notably, advancements have been made in the field of power electronic systems, as reliable power electronic converters are essential for managing multiple power sources and loads. However, the development of these systems poses challenges related to power device switching speed, system weight and size, and power losses. The integration of a gate driver into a SiC power module offers a solution to many of these challenges, thereby driving the advancement of electrical power density expansion. An LTCC-based gate driver with an LTCC-based optical isolator was developed and integrated into a fabricated 1.2kV SiC power module. This development was done specifically for high temperature applications as part of a wider research on the reliability of the integrated power module at higher temperatures. Therefore, this high temperature gate driver integrated SiC power module was tested from 25oC to 200oC. Double pulse testing of the fabricated integrated SiC power module was done to characterize the switching performance of the power module. The test results indicate a minimal voltage overshoot of approximately 3.5V during both the turn-on and turn-off periods. Additionally, the current overshoot ranges from ~5A to ~8A as the temperature increases from 25oC to 200oC. The results show good switching performance resulting in minimal losses over higher temperatures. Therefore, with these results, the integrated SiC power module can enhance better power density, and lower losses even in high temperature applications.

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