PULSE EVALUATION AND RELIABILITY ANALYSIS OF 4H-SiC SGTO MODULES

摘要

Army applications require power components that are utilized in pulsed power systems to be reliablenand durable, compact, have high power and energy density, and lastly, to be easily integrated intoncombat vehicles. The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is currently investigating siliconncarbide Super-gate turn-off thyristors (SiC SGTOs) to meet the future pulsed power systemnrequirements for the Army. ARL’s methodology is to evaluate the device performance in pulsednpower circuits that emulate the electrical stresses that the power devices would encounter in a pulsednpower system. Each module being evaluated utilized four 0.6 cm2 SiC SGTOs. The packagingndesign for the module utilizes ThinPak technology. The module has reliably been pulsed over 2000ntimes at peak currents greater than 8 kA with a pulse width of 170 μs. The module has also beennpulsed greater than 3.6 kA at a pulse width of 1 ms, corresponding to an action rate of 7000 A2s andna current density of 2.5 kA/cm2 over the cathode mesa area. This work evaluates SiC SGTO modulesnunder various pulsed conditions. This paper includes details on device structure, module packagendesign, and module pulsed switching and reliability.