Switching Time Delay Optimization for “SiC+Si” Hybrid Device in a Phase-leg Configuration

Journal article, 2021

Compared to SiC MOSFET, the switching loss of Si IGBT is much higher due to its slow switching speed and tail current. Si IGBT/SiC MOSFET hybrid switch device can reach to optimal performance with low static and dynamic loss, which can improve the current capacity of SiC devices and reduce the power loss of Si IGBT based converters. With the separated gate control signals, the switching moments of the two devices can be controlled independently to ensure Si IGBT under zero-voltage switching (ZVS) conditions. This measurement tends to reduce the switching loss of Si IGBT. However, the switching time delay between these two devices has significant impacts on its power loss. In this paper, the switching time delay optimization method is proposed to minimize the power loss of the hybrid switch. The static and dynamic characteristics of Si IGBT/SiC MOSFET hybrid-paralleled switch are studied, and a generalized power loss model for hybrid switch is developed. The influence of switching time delay on the characteristics of hybrid switch is analyzed and verified through double pulse tests in a phase-leg configuration. The experimental results show that the optimal turn-on delay time is that the two devices turn on at the same time and the turn-on loss can be reduced by about 73% compared with the solely Si IGBT and by about 52% compared with the solely SiC MOSFET. While the optimal turn-off sequence is that the Si IGBT turns off ahead of the SiC MOSFET. Under the proposed optimal turn-off delay time of the hybrid switch, the turn-off loss is reduced by about 61.4%. This optimization strategy is used in a Buck converter to verify the superiority of the SiC/Si hybrid switch and the optimal switching sequence. Simulation results show that the optimal switching sequence is consistent with theoretical analysis, and the efficiency is improved by 2.5% compared with Buck converter using solely Si IGBT.