Investigation of wide bandgap device (Silicon Carbide Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor)

Abstract

Attributed to its superlative wide bandgap properties, Silicon Carbide (SiC) has been the natural choice of material for the fabrication of high temperature, power and frequency semiconductor devices. When the material is processed to grow a layer of high-quality thermal oxide (Silicon Dioxide), the Silicon Carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (SiC MOSFET) can be fabricated. The promising advent of SiC MOSFETs has allowed for the production of smaller, lighter, faster and more efficient power electronic devices when compared alongside with its Silicon counterpart. As such, with its rapid and wide-scale implications in modern power electronic systems, the durability and survivability of the power semiconductor device is highly crucial. As such, this dissertation presents the comprehensive study of the various failure mechanisms and contemporary protection measures of the SiC MOSFET. LTspice which is a widely used analogue electronic simulation software was used to simulate the device characteristics under certain test conditions. Additionally, the analysis and evaluation of several conducted practical experiments are also presented in this dissertation. The purpose is to assess and understand the reliability of SiC MOSFET protection measures under short circuit fault conditions. This report complements the double pulse and hard switching fault functional tests, offering a deeper comprehension into power electronic technology related aspects.