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

Abstract

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