Versatile SiC JFETs Benefit Power Switching And Circuit Protection Applications

Focus:

Although most of the power semiconductor world has focused attention on SiC MOSFETs, the case can be made that the SiC JFET is the highest performance and most versatile switch technology available. This article examines the unique attributes of SiC JFETs. After reviewing the key characteristics of SiC JFETs, the article describes their performance advantages when applied in cascode configurations with low-voltage silicon MOSFETs, as 650-V to 1.7-kV rated power switches, and used with particular power supply topologies and switching schemes. An extension of the single-JFET cascode, the “supercascode” combines a low-voltage MOSFET with multiple series-connected SiC JFETs. The supercascode devices offer higher performance than silicon IGBTs and thyristors in medium voltage (6.5 kV to 10 kV+) and high voltage (tens of kilovolts and higher) power switching applications. Finally, this piece discusses how the low on-resistance and robustness of SiC JFETs provide performance advantages in power switching and circuit protection applications such as bidirectional current limiters and dc breakers. Article includes many graphs depicting device performance.

What you’ll learn:

• How to understand the performance characteristics and capabilities of SiC JFETs
• How to understand the performance benefits of SiC JFET cascodes in various power switching and circuit protection applications

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Author & Publication:

Peter Losee and Anup Bhalla, UnitedSiC, Monmouth Junction, N.J., How2Power Today, Aug 15 2019

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