Comparison of silicon carbide MOSFET and IGBT based electric vehicle traction inverters

Abstract

This paper compares Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFET and IGBT based electric vehicle (EV) traction inverters by considering the cost and efficiency of these two inverters. Commercially available SiC MOSFET CCS50M12CM2 (1200V / 50A) from Cree and IGBT PM50RL1A120 (1200V / 50A) from Powerex are modeled in detail in PSIM to obtain efficiency curves of inverters under different load conditions. The gained efficiency curves are evaluated using a kinematic model of an EV under three different drive cycles to compare the performance of these two inverters in terms of energy efficiency. Finally, initial cost and operation costs of these two inverters are analyzed.