Overview of Silicon Carbide Power Devices for Aircraft Electrical Systems

Modern aircraft electrical systems are based on power electronics sources and processing. Power electronics concepts used on aircraft stratify by the type of materials used in power device construction with Silicon power devices being the most prominent. Other types of power devices considered for power processing on aircraft include Silicon Carbide (SiC) power switching devices. The choice of power device type depends mainly on performance and the losses to achieve the maximum efficiency of power processing. SiC power devices provide many functions for a variety of aircraft applications, e.g. power generators, electric drives, lights, power sources of instruments, and motors. This paper reviews Silicon Carbide power devices used on the aircraft, addresses typical applications, and compares performance in relation to current Silicon power devices.