Analysis of a novel packaging technique for natural voltage balancing of series-connected SiC-MOSFETs

Abstract

This paper analyzes a novel packaging technique to improve the voltage-sharing performances of series-connected SiC-MOSFETs. The proposed method takes advantage of the parasitic capacitance network introduced by the packaging dielectric isolation layers to reduce the voltage imbalance across the series-connected devices. Firstly, the study carried out in this work explains how the parasitic capacitance networks introduced by the classic planar packaging and the gate drive circuits cause voltage imbalances across the devices. Therefore, a new packaging concept is analyzed to compensate for the effects of the gate driver parasitic capacitances. The concept is introduced and analyzed using equivalent models and mathematical approaches. To verify the analysis, the voltage sharing between two series-connected 1.2 kV SiC-MOSFETs is tested in a pulse test setup. The experimental results confirm that the proposed voltage-balancing technique can drastically improve the voltage-sharing performance of series-connected devices.